The Four Horsewomen Plus 1
by I AM NOT TIM
Summary: AJ Lee is the hottest guitarist in New York. Sasha's her biggest fan, and practically wants to be her, Charlotte wants to be a star, like her father, and Becky wants her new step-sister Bayley to like her. Little do they know, their paths will all soon intertwine. Meanwhile, Dean gets into some trouble, and leaves Seth and Roman in serious danger. (Charlotte/Seth).
1. The Boss's Office Part 1

"Dad, this means everything to me!" Charlotte yelled, following her father into their kitchen.

"I guess I'll go now..." her best friend Dana said, sensing an argument beginning. She grabbed her cell phone and left the house.

"And your future means everything to ME. Did you turn in those applications?" Ric responded, grabbing an apple from the fridge.

"Yes. Stop changing the subject."

"Where did you apply?"

Charlotte sighed.

"NC State."

"I said applications. With an s. Where else did you apply?"

"I'm not applying to get into any other schools. If you're making me go to college, I at least want to go to the only school I like."

"What if you don't get into NC State?"

"Good!" Charlotte shouted.

"Good!? Charlotte do you realize how blessed you are? There are kids, damn smart kids, who want to go to college, but they can't, you know why they can't Charlotte? Because their parents can't afford it. And you're gonna have college entirely paid off, and you're complaining!?"

"Why don't you go and find one of those kids and pay for their college instead?"

"And now you're back-talking me!?"

"No, I wasn't just being a smart ass, I was serious. If there's so many kids that want to go to college, why don't you find one and pay for them instead of paying for me when I don't even really want to go."

Ric sighed, taking a bite of the apple.

"Because you're my daughter, and I want you to be successful."

"Look Dad, all I need $83 for the vintage guitar down at the music shop, so I can perform at the big open mic on Saturday, I don't see what the big deal is!"

"The big deal is, I'm not spending money on this silly dream of yours. I'm spending my money on things that'll help you in life. College. Dresses, for job interviews."

"It wasn't a silly dream when you did it, what's the difference?"

"The difference is, I didn't join a band because I wanted to, I joined a band because I was broke, and I knew some guys with some instruments. And we got lucky. Really lucky. I'm not gonna have my daughter's future depend on luck. And I don't want you in that lifestyle."

"That lifestyle is the reason you're rich!"

"Do you know how the Four Horsemen ended?! We made one successful album. One. Then, we split up. I was out of my mind! I had an ego that weighed a ton, and I was on every drug imaginable. Ole is homeless. Arn basically disappeared off the face of the earth. JJ became a pastor. And Tully is where I almost ended up. In a hole, 6 feet in the ground with a headstone. I'm not supporting you getting into this industry."

Charlotte sighed once again.

"...so I'm really not allowed to perform at the open mic?"

"...I never said you weren't allowed."

"What?"

"Go, perform at the open mic, buy a guitar. I just said I'M not paying for it."

"But how am I supposed to get money?"

"Get a job." Ric shrugged.

"Get a job? It's Thursday, the open mic is in two days!"

"Well then it looks like you're not getting that guitar by Saturday." Ric said, leaving the room. Charlotte sighed, sitting at the kitchen counter. Just then, her phone rang.

"Hello?... Hey Seth, what's up?... Nah, I'm... I'm not doing anything tonight..."

Charlotte's smile lit up.

"Sure, I'd LOVE to go to that party... Pick me up around 8:30?... Sounds like a plan... Alright, see you then... Yeah that's fine... bye."

* * *

"She said yes." Seth smiled.

Dean looked at him and rolled his eyes, while Roman smiled.

"Atta boy, Seth!" Roman said.

"Dean, what's your problem?"

"What the hell does a rich pretty girl like that want with you?" Dean asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you ain't rich, and you ain't pretty. Opposites attract I guess."

"I beg to differ, I AM pretty." Seth said with a laugh.

"Roman, Seth look pretty to you?"

"He's not my type." Roman shrugged. Dean and Seth laughed.

"I think I know what's going on here. You guys are just jealous because I got a date to the party."

"I got a date too." Roman said.

"Who?"

"...Nikki."

"Nikki Bella? You asked her and she said yes!?" Seth asked.

"...no, but I'm gonna see her at the party, and I'm gonna ask her for a dance, and-"

"And she's gonna say no, dance with John Cena, and he's gonna be plowing her at the end of the night while you watch porn." Dean said, opening his backpack.

"And who's your date exactly?" Roman asked.

"I got something a little more important than a date."

Dean pulled $2,000 cash out of his backpack.

"Okay, where the hell is all that money from?" Seth asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'm hungry. Why don't us three guys hit up Five Guys?"

Seth and Roman suspiciously looked at each other for a bit. Everyone stood up.

"You paying?" Roman asked.

"Nah, I'm broke." Dean said, putting all the money back into the backpack except a $100 bill. Roman and Seth laughed.

* * *

"Oh look, Keith and Becky are already home!" a woman, with dark brown hair said, from the driver's seat of her SUV. Her daughter Bayley was in the passenger seat. She slowly pulled into the driveway.

"Mom, I'm really glad that you finally found someone that really makes you happy and all, but Becky..."

"Bayley, we already discussed this. Becky's your sister now, you're family."

"Not yet." Bayley said, as her mother turned the car off.

"What's your problem with Becky?"

"She's just... really weird and annoying. And she over steps boundaries. And she tries to talk my ear off every night about the weirdest most irrelevant stuff and I'm trying really really hard to like her and be nice to her, but I don't know how much longer I can take this."

"You know that saying." Bayley's mother laughed.

"What saying?"

"Something like, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family."

"...Mom first of all, no one says that. Second of all, you did pick this family. You got engaged to Keith, and it was your idea for him and Becky to move in."

"Look, we'll discuss this later. Our show is coming on and 5 minutes, Keith and I always watch it together!"

"It's 1:55 in the afternoon, what show comes on at 2 PM?"

"The Braxton Hills. It's a soap opera."

Bayley rolled her eyes as she entered the house with her mother. She walked up the stairs and opened her bedroom door.

"BECKY WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM!?" Bayley yelled.

Becky chuckled, sitting on the bed, which was now on the opposite side of the room as before. Bayley's keyboard, TV, computer, and mirror were also in different places.

"I told you last night that I didn't like he vibe the room was putting out. With the bed over here and the computer in that far corner, it makes the room feel more open and spacey, ya know?"

"MOM!...MOOOOOOM!" Bayley yelled.

Bayley's mother sighed and ran over to see what was going on.

"Bayley, what's the ma...oh my god! This is the first time I've seen your room cleaned in months!" Bayley's mother smiled.

"THAT'S the first thing you notice!?" Bayley asked, angrily.

"What?" her mother asked, obliviously.

Bayley looked back and forth between her mother and Becky in disbelief.

"My room has been the same for 17 years. 17! And then all of a sudden, you think you can just come in here, and change everything around without asking me!?"

"Bayley, honey..." her mother said, putting a hand on Bayley's shoulder. Bayley shook it off.

"Don't 'Bayley, honey' me! Do something about this!"

"You two share this room now, Bayley."

"That doesn't mean she can just-"

"HONEY! IT'S STARTING!" Keith yelled, from the bedroom. Bayley's mother immediately ran back into her bedroom.

Bayley sighed, looking around at the new room.

"This, is not cool. At all."

"Bayley, I'm sorry. I should've consulted with you first. I was just gonna move the keyboard and mirror out of the way, but then I got more ideas and I got carried away."

"What'd you do with my clothes that were on the ground?"

"I threw them in the washing machine for ya."

"YOU WHAT!?" Bayley yelled, running downstairs. Becky came running down behind her.

"BAYLEY, WHAT'S WRONG!?"

They both ran into the laundry room. Bayley tried to open the washing machine, but the lid was locked, because it was in the final rinse.

"DAMMIT!" Bayley yelled.

"What!?"

Bayley unplugged the washing machine and opened the washer. After fishing through the soapy water, she grabbed a soaking wet pair of blue jeans. She reached into the pocket and unfolded a fragile, mushy piece of paper, with unreadable smeared ink all over it. Tears began to form in Bayley's eyes.

"It's gone." Bayley said quietly, and sadly.

"What's gone?" Becky asked.

"My song... I wrote a whole song on this piece of paper. And now it's gone."

"...I'm so sorry Bayley...do you remember it?"

Just then, Bayley's sadness turned into anger, as she turned around to face Becky.

"I hadn't memorized it yet. I came up with it last week and never touched it again. That's why I wrote the notes down, so I wouldn't forget it. If I memorized it, then why would I be running down the stairs in a panic to grab the notes to it before they're gone forever!?"

"Bayley, I... I didn't know, I... I was trying to do something nice because... I know you don't like me, and I really really want you to." Becky said, sadly.

Bayley sighed.

"You wanna do me a favor? Here's a favor you can do for me, stop doing me favors and leave me alone." Bayley said, dropping the smeared paper and leaving the laundry room.

Becky frowned, silently watching her leave. When Bayley was gone, Becky picked up the piece of paper. She looked at the unreadable ink smears for several seconds before sighing and slowly closing the washing machine again. She plugged it back in.

* * *

Near downtown, a slightly tanned girl with blonde hair, and a very light brown-skinned girl with pink hair walked down the sidewalk.

"And you really need this money, Sasha?" the blonde girl asked.

"Yes."

"Like... you NEED it?"

"Alexa, why do you keep asking me this? Yes. I really want and need this money, and fast. The guitar might not even be at the music store by tomorrow."

"And you need this guitar for?" Alexa asked, texting away on her phone.

"For the open mic."

"Oh, on Saturday? Yeah I heard there's a cash prize of like $800 or something."

"I'm not worried about the cash prize. I'm worried about impressing AJ Lee!"

"...who?"

Sasha stopped walking.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know AJ Lee!? She's only the greatest female guitarist that's ever lived! You know what, forget female. She's the best guitarist that's ever lived."

"And she's gonna be in town? How do you know?"

"Because I know things. And I'M gonna impress her."

"And then what?"

"And then she's gonna love me and take me under her wing!"

Just then, a car pulled up to the corner ahead.

"That's our ride." Alexa said, walking over to the car. Sasha reluctantly followed. They got into the back, and older man was driving.

"Hi, Vince! This is my friend Sasha!" Alexa said. Sasha smiled and waved, as Vince looked at her through the rear view mirror. He simply chuckled.

Eventually, the car pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. While Sasha looked around, trying to figure out what she had gotten herself into. She told Alexa that she desperately needed fast money, so Alexa invited her to come with her, but she never explained any details.

The three got out of the car and entered the hotel, before entering the elevator. They made it up to the third floor and got off.

The two girls followed Vince to room 316, and walked in, as he locked the door behind him.

"This is a nice room." Sasha said, looking around.

"Make yourself comfortable." Vince smiled, as she sat down on the bed.

Vince handed Sasha $500, then did the same to Alexa. Sasha's eyes got huge as she looked at Vince in confusion.

"This is Sasha's first day on the job." Alexa giggled.

"Hmmm. Then maybe we should ease her into it." Vince smirked. Alexa took off her shirt.

"Woah, woah, wait. What the fuck is this?" Sasha asked.

"What do you mean?" Alexa asked, beginning to undo her own bra.

"Are we... ARE WE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM!?"

"Uh... duh?" Alexa said, with a laugh.

"Dude... I'm out." Sasha said, standing up.

"You said you needed the money!" Alexa said.

"Not THIS bad."

"You can't leave! I paid for TWO girls!" Vince protested.

Sasha took the $500 out of her pocket and sat it on the bed, before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

She stopped for a brief second in the hall.

"I really need that guitar..." She said, thinking.

She stood still for several more seconds.

"...nah fuck that. I'd steal that guitar before I'd become a call girl slut." Sasha said, walking back into the elevator.

* * *

Bayley sat on her bed, watching the television, and trying to get used to the new room's layout.

All of a sudden, Becky cracked the door and peeked her head in.

"Bayley..."

"Yeah?" Bayley said, with a sigh.

"A girl named Charlotte's downstairs for you."

"...blonde tall chick?" Bayley asked, confused.

"Yeah."

Bayley slowly got up as Becky walked in and sat down on the bed. Bayley walked downstairs and into the living room, to see Charlotte sitting on the couch.

"Hey Bayley! Long time, no see!" Charlotte smiled.

"How do you know where I live?" Bayley asked, suspiciously.

"We used to ride the same bus in Kindergarten. I got on before you, so I saw it pick you up from here before."

"Ok, new question. Why are you at my house?"

"What's wrong with me being here?"

"Charlotte, we went to school together from Kindergarten to 12th grade and we've had like 2 conversations ever. And I'm pretty sure one was when the teacher said 'turn and talk to the person next to you' after we read something in class."

"Well... I want to talk to you, about making $400."

"How?"

"Easy. You still play keyboard, right?"

"Yeah."

"I sing. We can do something at that open mic and win. You just have to help me get this guitar tonight."

"Help you?"

"Yeah, how much money do you have?"

Bayley looked at Charlotte confused.

"Why are you asking me for money?"

"I need it."

Bayley chuckled a bit.

"You need it?"

"What's so funny about me asking you to help me buy a guitar?" Charlotte asked.

"Your dad is Ric Flair. You're telling me that daddy's little princess wants a guitar, and he won't buy it?"

"He thinks pursuing music as a career is silly."

"...He was the lead singer of-"

"Yes, I know." Charlotte said, cutting her off.

"How much is that guitar?"

"$83."

"Well, I have $4 and 21 cents left from Taco Bell, so we only need $79 more dollars."

"What? You don't have a job?"

"Not a well paying one. And besides, I get paid again on Sunday. You know how it is at the end of a paycheck, you're all out of money."

"...no...I don't. I've never paid for anything in my life, I'm kinda new to this." Charlotte said, slightly embarrassed.

"I know a way we can make some money." Becky smiled, walking down the stairs.

"Were you eavesdropping!?" Bayley asked.

"I... uh... That's not the point. The point is, I know where we can get $83."

"I'm listening." Charlotte said.

"My boyfriend Xavier performs downtown all the time, and people just walk by and give him and his friends money. I can ask him to let US have the spot for the day, and we'll make $83 dollars by like 7 o'clock."

"Us?" Bayley asked.

"Yeah, the three of us. Charlotte sings, you play keyboard, I play drums." Becky shrugged.

"You play drums!?" Charlotte asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, my drumset's right in the garage."

"Bayley you should've told me your sister plays drums!"

"Woah, woah, wait. First off, I didn't know. Second off, did she tell you she's my sister? She's not my sister."

"Well I'm gonna be pretty soon, so you might as well get used to saying it." Becky said. Bayley looked over at Becky, before looking back at Charlotte.

"What do you get out of it?" Charlotte asked.

"I get to perform with you guys at the open mic." Becky smiled.

"Deal."

"What? No! You seriously wanna let Becky in on this?" Bayley asked.

"Why not?" Charlotte asked.

"Because now we have to split the money 3 ways."

"Ok, whatever. 2 hundred and something dollars is still more than you have now. The important part is getting the guitar tonight so we can practice. Bayley, grab your keyboard, Becky, grab your drums and your sticks. We're going downtown right now."

Becky ran into the garage as Bayley sighed.

"What are we even gonna perform?"

"Every song you know how to play. We're not leaving until we have $83."

Bayley sighed and slowly began walking up the stairs.


	2. The Boss's Office Part 2

"Yo E, you gotta play that Marvin Gaye sample jawn. They're gonna go crazy for it." said a guy with dreads, holding an empty cardboard box. He unfolded it and made it flat on the sidewalk.

"Depends on if X wrote anything to it." A larger guy said, standing behind turntables and some speakers.

"Uh... Sound check, sound check." said the smallest one, talking into the microphone he was holding. His voice ran through the speakers.

"Come on X, you can't freestyle something off the dome?"

"No I wrote a verse I ju.. hold on..." The guy holding the microphone said. Noticing Becky, Bayley, and Charlotte approaching with instruments.

"What the hell?" The larger one asked.

"Becky, what are you doing here? What's all this?"

"Hey Xavier. Guys, this is Xavier, Xavier, this is my sister Bayley, and her friend Charlotte."

"You just made two false statements." Bayley said.

"Shut up." Charlotte muttered, elbowing Bayley in the ribs.

"Joking... I like to joke around with them like that." Bayley said, with a fake smile, trying to ignore the pain.

"Uh, nice to meet you guys... what are these instruments for?" Xavier asked.

"Well... We kinda need like $80 in the next 3 hours or so. And I was wondering if we could set up and perform here?"

"You know what, I'll talk to 'em and see what-"

"Ladies, ladies, how are you? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kofi, but you can call me Special K. And I'm am the BEST break-dancer in ANY of the five boroughs. Over there on the turntables, that's Big E. This right here is my man X Factor. E spins the beats, X drops the rhymes, and I get the crowd hyped. And we are, THE NEW DAY!"

"NEW DAAAAAAY!" Big E shouted, with a smile.

The girls chuckled.

"Kofi, this... this is my girlfriend, she knows who we are. Anyway, she was wondering if uh... if you guys could just fall back today, and let them set up here, they kinda need some real quick cash."

"Whatever man, you ain't even write the new verse yet anyway." Big E said.

"No, I wrote it, I definitely wrote it."

"Spit it, then." Kofi said.

"What?"

"Spit the verse. Big E, drop that beat."

"No, let's, let's not. I don't wanna hold Becky and her friends up."

"No it's fine, go ahead babe." Becky smiled.

"Nah, cause... it's... it's really long, so..."

"Yeah, sure it is. You girls need anything else?" Kofi asked, with a laugh.

"Umm... That microphone and those speakers." Charlotte said.

The guys began setting the girl's instruments up, and moving their own set up out of the way.

"What the hell are we gonna play?" Bayley muttered.

"You know 'Nature Boy'?" Charlotte asked.

"Everyone knows 'Nature Boy', Charlotte."

"Okay, we'll start there and just come up with songs from there."

"Change the lyric to Nature Girl." Becky said.

Charlotte and Bayley both turned to her.

"That's a really good idea." Charlotte smiled.

"It's not bad." Bayley shrugged.

"...Nature Girl... I really, really like that." Charlotte said, her smile becoming even bigger.

* * *

" _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl!_ "

As Charlotte sang the last line of the song, the group of about 8 people that had stopped to listen began clapping.

"What do we have?" Charlotte asked.

"Eleven bucks." Xavier said, looking into their money box.

"Well, what now?" Bayley asked.

"...you guys know 'Space Mountain'?" Charlotte smiled.

"Yeah." Bayley said.

"No." Becky replied.

"You don't know 'Space Mountain'?" Bayley asked.

"I'm not a big Four Horsemen fan, I prefer the Freebirds to be honest."

"Well, just keep time." Charlotte shrugged.

Becky began playing a generic drum pattern.

"Yeah, a little slower though... perfect."

* * *

It was 6:45 PM. Sasha sat on the sidewalk, outside of the music store, watching people enter and exit. Just then, an older woman stopped and looked at her.

"Excuse me young ma'am, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine, I'm just waiting for somebody." Sasha said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, have a good day!"

"You too." Sasha said, with a fake smile.

"People probably think I'm homeless." Sasha muttered to herself.

Just then, she saw Charlotte, Bayley and Becky walk past her, excitedly counting their money.

"2 and a half hours, $93 bucks!? We need to perform downtown more often!" Charlotte said, as the girls laughed, walking into the store.

Sasha sighed, bored.

"If someone doesn't walk out of this fucking store with a gold guitar case, I'm gonna go insane." Sasha said, aloud, to herself.

* * *

"I never knew you played guitar." Bayley said.

"I don't." Charlotte confessed.

"WHAT!?"

"But I can learn a song or two by Saturday. Trust me."

Bayley rolled her eyes, as they went and picked out the guitar.

* * *

Sasha sat for several more minutes. Just then, Charlotte, Bayley and Becky walked out of the store. Charlotte was carrying a gold guitar case.

"Holy shit, that's it!" Sasha muttered under her breath, her eyes getting huge.

Sasha's heart began beating fast, as the girls began to walk by her.

"Wait." Bayley said.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

"We should give this woman the rest of our money." Bayley said.

Sasha looked confused for a split second, before realizing how homeless she looked, just sitting outside of a store in New York City.

"Here you go, ma'am." Charlotte smiled, holding out a 10 dollar bill to Sasha. Sasha smiled and stood up.

"Wow... thanks, that's so nice, but... I think I'll just take this instead."

Sasha immediately grabbed the guitar case and began running.

The three girls just stared at each other in shock, before chasing after her.

"HEY! HEY SOMEBODY STOP HER!" Charlotte yelled, chasing her down the busy sidewalk. Sasha made a turn down an alley. Once the girls made it to the alley, Sasha was sitting at the top of a fence. The guitar case was already on the other side of it. She jumped down, to the other side, picked up the guitar case and kept running.

"I'll follow her, it looks like she's headed towards Main Street, you guys get to Main Street and see if you can corner her." Charlotte said, climbing the fence to go chase her.

Bayley and Becky began running out of the alley, and back down the sidewalk.

* * *

Sasha layed on top of the guitar case, out of breath. She heard footsteps running up behind her.

"Fuck!" Sasha said, standing back up, picking up the guitar case, and running again.

"GIVE ME MY FUCKING GUITAR BACK!" She heard Charlotte yell, from about 35 yards behind her.

Sasha managed to run across Main Street through the open window of an abandoned apartment building. Before Charlotte could cross the street, the nearby traffic light turned green, and cars began flying down the street.

"This can't be happening. This cannot be happening." Charlotte said, putting her hands on her head, unable to cross the busy street. Just then, Bayley and Becky came running towards her on the sidewalk.

"Where'd she go?" Bayley asked.

"Into that apartment building. That place is huge, she could be anywhere."

"Charlotte I'm... I'm so sorry, this is my fault." Bayley sighed.

"No, it's not. She was waiting outside of that store for a reason. She wanted to rob someone. That's not an impulse decision you just make. Look, at the next red light, we're crossing the street and getting that guitar."

"What if she's dangerous?" Becky asked, nervously.

"Becky's right, I don't know about this." Bayley said.

"SHE'S about to be in danger. I'm getting my guitar back, either you're coming with me or you're not."

"We could call the police!"

"You know how many robberies go unsolved in NYC, Bayley? Did you notice that nobody helped us when we were chasing her? Nobody cares. If we want this guitar back, we have to get it ourselves."

The light turned red, and traffic stopped. Charlotte ran across the street. Becky and Bayley looked at each other before reluctantly following her.

The walked into the dark apartment, using the flash on their phone for lights. They managed to make it to some stairs.

"Think she's up here?" Becky asked.

"She has to be, there's nothing down here." Charlotte said.

They walked to the second level, seeing a dim light shining from under one of the doors. They walked over to the door and shined their flash on it. The words "THE BO$$'s OFFICE" were written in gold spray paint.

Charlotte kicked the door open to see Sasha, sitting in the room, on the guitar case. There was nothing else in the room besides an old bed, a lamp, and a couple of outfits in an open closet.

"Look. Just give me the guitar, and we won't throw you out of the window." Charlotte said.

"You look familiar." Sasha replied.

"What?"

"You look like the singer from the Four Horsemen, but slightly less manly."

"He's my father... wait... SLIGHTLY!?"

"Yeah, just a tad less."

"Look, we worked our asses off for that guitar and you're gonna give it back to us." Bayley said.

"Why don't you go get some of daddy's money and buy a new one?"

"Give me my guitar right now!"

"Or what? What are you guys gonna do, beat me up?" Sasha asked, standing up, with a smile.

"Don't test me." Charlotte said, with a scowl.

"Hit me, Trust Fund. Go ahead. Right here." Sasha said, pointing to her chin.

Charlotte slowly made a fist.

"What are you waiting for? Come on."

Charlotte nervously gulped.

"Play something." Becky said.

Bayley, Charlotte, and Sasha all turned to her, confused.

"What?" Sasha asked.

"Becky what are you talking about?" Bayley asked.

"Well, she stole the guitar for a reason, obviously. I wanna hear her play something." Becky shrugged.

"No, this isn't America's Got Talent, I don't care if she can play it, it's not her's. It's MINE! I need that guitar and I need it now!" Charlotte said.

"Look, this open mic this Saturday might be my only shot at getting to meet AJ Lee, I'm not blowing it. So if you want the guitar, you're gonna have to take it from me."

Bayley, Charlotte, and Becky all looked at each other.

"You're gonna be in the open mic this Saturday?" Charlotte asked.

"...Yeah." Sasha said, cautiously.

"Okay, conference." Charlotte said, walking out of the room. Becky and Bayley followed her, while Sasha sat, confused.

"Look, should we just let her be a part of the performance?" Charlotte asked.

"She just robbed you! She's probably sneaking out of the window right now!" Bayley exclaimed.

"Let's take a vote. I vote we let her in."

"Well I vote against it."

Charlotte and Bayley both turned to Becky, since she was the tiebreaker.

"I wanna hear her play something, then I'll vote." Becky said.

The two girls sighed at Becky. The three of them walked back into the room.

"Play something for us." Charlotte said, sitting down on the old bed.

"Why?"

"Because we need a guitarist for the open mic." Becky said.

"Oh now I'm supposed to help you guys?" Sasha asked.

"We've been in this room with you for 5 minutes and we haven't killed you yet. As far as I'm concerned, you owe us one." Charlotte said. Sasha chuckled, opening the guitar case.

"This one's just for you, Trust Fund." Sasha said, with a smile and a wink.

Charlotte remained stone faced.

Sasha began to play the guitar solo from the Four Horsemen's song 'Survivor'.

* * *

Seth walked away from Charlotte's front door and got back into the driver's seat of his car. Dean and Roman were in the backseat.

"She's not home, and she's not answering my calls." Seth said.

"She stood you up, bro." Roman shrugged.

Seth sighed, and began driving to the party.

* * *

Sasha finished playing the solo.

"What's your name?" Charlotte asked.

"They call me 'The Boss'." Sasha said, putting the guitar back into it's case.

"Yeah, sorry, not calling you 'The Boss'. I'm gonna need a name." Bayley said.

"Well you're not getting one. Am I in or not?"

Bayley and Charlotte turned to Becky.

"...play Nature Boy." Becky said, with a smile.

* * *

At around 9 PM, Seth was sitting at a table alone, in a dark club, full of loud music and teenagers. Roman was dancing with Brie Bella, after being turned down by Nikki. Dean was somewhere dancing with a random girl he met. Just then, Seth got a call from Charlotte.

"Hello?" Seth asked.

"Seth, I am so sorry! There was... I bought a guitar, and this girl... she stole it, and... it's a long story, but I'm ready. Can you come and pick me up?"

Before Seth could respond, the door at the front of the club was kicked down. Everyone began running and screaming, as the police sirens became loud.

"NYPD! NYPD!"

"Shit!" Roman yelled, running out of the back door of the club.

"AMBROSE! WE'RE LOOKING FOR A DEAN AMBROSE!" an officer yelled, over all the commotion. Seth saw Dean behind the bar and crouched down next to him.

"Dean, what the hell is going on!?" Seth asked.

"Look. I need you to listen carefully. Take this backpack, and run. As fast as you can. Just run, and don't stop." Dean said holding it out to him.

"What? But..."

"NOW!" Dean said, throwing him the backpack.

Seth caught it and took off running.

"HELLO!? SETH!? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Charlotte asked, still on the phone.

"I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER, BYE!" Seth yelled, still running. As he hung up and ran out of the club, Dean stood up from behind the bar with his hands up.

"AYE! RIGHT HERE!" Dean yelled. The cops ran over and tackled him, before putting him in handcuffs.

* * *

Seth kept running down the street.

"SETH! SETH!" Roman yelled, catching up to him. Seth stopped running.

"Roman!"

"Seth what happened!?"

"They... they wanted Dean... and Dean told me to take this backpack and run..."

"...what the fuck?" Roman asked.

"Look man, I'm going home. I don't know what's in here and I don't wanna know."

"You can't seriously be taking that home with you."

"What choice do I have!?" Seth said, getting into his car. Roman got into the passenger seat.

"Look man, we've both known Dean since birth basically. We know he's crazy, and we know ANYTHING could be in that backpack. I don't think keeping it is a good idea.'

"Well hopefully, when Dean gets to the police station, he'll call me and explain what's going on."

"So what do we do until then?" Roman asked.

"...we keep this backpack with one of us at all times, and we don't say shit to anyone, and we keep it moving. Until further notice."

Roman sighed.

"Sounds like a plan, Uce. Sounds like a plan."

They rode in silence.

"You gonna look in there?" Seth asked.

"Hell no." Roman said, throwing the backpack in the backseat.


	3. Feel The Glow

The sound of the bedroom door closing woke Bayley up. She looked at her clock.

"She really has to go pee at 2:30 in the morning?" Bayley asked, to no one.

Bayley was laying still, unable to go to sleep. When she started to fall asleep, she had a scary realization that woke her back up. It was 3:08, and Becky still hadn't returned to the bedroom. She slowly got out of her room and made her way to the bathroom, before knocking on the door.

"Becky? Everything okay in there?"

She got no response.

Bayley sighed and opened the door. The light was off and the room was empty.

"I don't have time for this." Bayley groaned, heading back to her bedroom to sleep.

Her alarm rang at 6:30 AM. As she turned the clock off, she woke up to find Becky, in the bed next to her, fast asleep.

"What the... was I dreaming?"

Bayley looked at the ceiling in deep thought.

"There's no way... I got out of bed and everything..."

She looked suspiciously at the orange-haired, 17-year old Irish girl, that apparently was her future sister.

"You're hiding something..." Bayley said, to Becky's unconscious body, before getting ready for work.

* * *

Charlotte was in her bed, asleep, until she was woken up by her phone ringing. She read the screen. It read, "THE BO$$ - Mobile." She answered it.

"Hello?" Charlotte yawned.

"Hey, when are we practicing?" Sasha asked.

"Uh... whenever uh... whenever Bayley gets off work."

Charlotte looked at the clock and realized that it was 9 in the morning.

"Okay, where are we gonna practice?"

"How about your... whatever you call that room in that abandoned building."

"My office." Sasha said.

"Right, right... Do you like... live there?"

"Of course I don't live there. There's no running water, no food. What did you think I was a homeless person?"

"I mean... you were sitting outside the store, then you took my guitar to an abandoned building, and you were kinda just chilling there."

"Well... a week ago, I kinda got into a fight with my dad, and he kicked me out of the house."

Charlotte gasped.

"He what!? How old are you!?"

"I turn 18 in a few days."

"WHAT KIND OF FATHER KICKS HIS 17-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OUT!?"

"It's okay, when he goes to work, Mom sneaks me in to take showers and stuff. And to get food and money."

"Do you need a place to stay?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Anything I want, I can get it... I'm good. Call me when it's time to practice. I'll be here. Bye."

"Bye." Charlotte said, unwillingly.

"I feel so bad for..."

Charlotte didn't finish her sentence, realizing that she didn't know the pink-haired girl's actual name.

"...the boss."

She lazily dialed Seth's phone number. Seth answered after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you never called me back... what happened last night?"

"The party got busted. The cops took Dean."

Charlotte's eyes got huge.

"Oh my god, why!?"

"No one knows."

"I hope everything works out okay. It's probably just a misunderstanding or something."

"...yeah..." Seth said, deciding not to mention the backpack.

* * *

"We'll have to hang out another time." Charlotte said, through the phone.

Seth smiled, as Roman sat, waiting for Seth to unpause their video game.

Just then, the two guys heard a piercing ringing sound.

"Is that your phone?" Seth asked.

"No, it's coming from the backpack." Roman said, pointing at the mysterious burgundy backpack in between them.

"Hello?" Charlotte asked.

"Hold on Charlotte I gotta call you back."

Before Charlotte could say say goodbye, Seth hung up the phone and opened the backpack. He pulled out a phone that had a generic green case.

"Dean's phone has an Arkham Asylum case. What the hell is this?" Seth asked.

"Answer it?" Roman shrugged.

"Hello?" Seth asked, putting it on speaker.

"Who is this!?" They heard a low, angry, Hispanic voice ask.

"Uh... who is this?"

"Did you get this phone out of a burgundy backpack!?"

Seth and Roman looked at each other, freaked out.

"...how did you know?"

"Look, you perros need to take this bag back to wherever you found it."

"I... I don't know where it came from, my friend Dean just handed it to me and-"

"DEAN!? Where the hell is he!?"

"...jail I guess?"

"JAIL!? Maldita sea! Hunico, el idiota mierda blanca fue detenido y se entregó a la mochila a alguien!" the man yelled, shouting the last part to whoever was in the background.

"Uh, sir I... I don't speak Spanish."

"Do you know what's in that backpack?"

"N... No sir, and I don't wanna know. I'm just holding it until Dean gets back next week."

"For your sake, I hope you're right." The man said, hanging up.

"Okay, so we're officially getting rid of this and the phone." Roman said.

"Agreed." Seth said, dropping the phone back into the backpack and zipping it closed.

Seth's cell phone rang. Neither Seth, nor Roman recognized the number.

"Hello?" Seth asked, putting this call on speaker as well.

"Seth. What's up, man?" Dean said, nonchalantly.

"Dean, what the fuck is in that bag?"

Roman elbowed him.

"Dude, calls in jail are recorded!" Roman said.

"Oh, nah, I'm not on a jail phone." Dean said, with a laugh.

"What?" Seth asked, confused.

"Bro, you can get ANYTHING in jail."

"Look. We just got yelled at in Spanish, over the phone, because of whatever's in there."

"Bro, bro. Seth. Just take a deep breath. Relax. I'll call up Papá De Drogas and let him know what's going on. Just make sure you don't lose what's in that backpack."

"Dean, you need to explain to US what's going on." Roman said, getting annoyed.

"Look, all you need to know is, if you two lose that bag, I'm dead, you're dead, your family's dead, your dog's dead, Del Rio will kill everyone."

Seth and Roman looked at each other once again, unable to tell if Dean was using his trademark dry sense of humor, or if they were in actual danger.

"I gotta go, but trust me, I'll be outta here in 7 days. They got nothing on me. Peace, guys." Dean said, hanging up.

* * *

Around 2:30 PM, Sasha sat in her office, with Becky and Bayley.

Becky's drumset and Bayley's keyboard were already set up. The guitar that was technically Charlotte's was laying in it's case, on the ground.

"So... I understand we're supposed to call you 'The Boss', but... Is the 'the' always necessary? Can we just call you 'Boss' in certain instances? Like, if I'm talking to Dad and I'm like 'Hey, I'm going to go hang out with The Boss', that sounds normal, but like, if I'm trying to get your attention or I'm talking to you, and I'm like, 'Hey, The Boss, you wanna go to the movies?', it sounds kinda stupid, ya know?"

All Bayley could do was chuckle at Becky's question. Sasha held an unamused facial expression.

"That accent..." Sasha said, emotionlessly.

"You like my accent?"

"You sound like a deaf British person with a frog in your throat."

Bayley covered her own mouth, as she cracked up. Becky became visibly offended, and a bit embarrassed.

"That's not a compliment." Becky said, as if it wasn't obvious.

"I know." Sasha said, coldly, before looking out of her window for any signs of Charlotte.

Sasha looked down at the last text she received from her. It read "on my way", and was sent about 13 minutes ago.

"Is Trust Fund usually this late?"

"I just met her yesterday." Becky shrugged.

"I mean... I don't really know her. All I know is she's Ric Flair's daughter and she can sing." Bayley said.

Sasha sat down, and the three girls waited a few more minutes, before Charlotte and Dana entered the room, with a blue guitar case.

"Sorry I'm late, guys." Charlotte said.

"Um, who are you?" Sasha asked.

Dana looked a bit confused by Sasha's hostile greeting.

"Uh... this is my best friend, Dana... she plays bass guitar." Charlotte said, with a nervous smile. In her head, she counted down to Bayley's inevitable response.

"You told me I was gonna make $400. At this rate, by Saturday, we'll be an 8 person band and we'll be making $100 a piece!" Bayley protested.

Charlotte sighed.

"I was gonna call us the Four Horsewomen." Sasha said.

"The Four Horsewomen! I like that!" Dana said, smiling

"Yeah, I liked it too until there was five of us."

"There were 5 members of the Four Horsemen too!" Charlotte pointed out.

"JJ Dillon did occasion keyboard work. He was only in like 2 songs, and he wasn't even on the cover of the album." Sasha said, opening the golden guitar case from last night.

"Well, we can be the Four Horsewomen Plus 1." Dana said, taking her guitar out as well.

"You're really lucky that the bassline in Nature Boy is so iconic... and you better be able to play it." Bayley said, getting behind her keyboard.

"Nature Boy is literally the only song I can play."

Bayley and Sasha both had the same look of confusion as Dana laughed.

"If you can only play one song, you don't 'play bass guitar'. You're just a person that can play Nature Boy on bass." Sasha said, almost a bit offended at Charlotte introducing her as someone that plays bass.

"Okay look, Dana isn't the best bass guitarist, but we need that bassline, and she can play it." Charlotte replied, eager to defend her best friend.

"We'll find out I guess. Becky, start us off." Sasha shrugged.

"One... two... one, two, three, go!"

Sasha began playing the opening riff. Once her solo part was finished, Becky, Bayley, and Dana joined in, playing the parts that led up to Charlotte's first verse. Dana smiled as she proudly played the repetitive, simple bassline, while the rest of the girls continued, unimpressed.

" _All of the boys, they try to act like me, all the girls are chasing after me, it comes naturally... yeah it comes naturally._ "

"Wait, stop!" Sasha said.

Becky, Bayley, and Dana immediately stopped playing.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

"It's flipped, remember?"

"What's flipped."

"We changed it to 'Nature Girl'. You're supposed to sing, 'all of the GIRLS, they try to act like me, all of the BOYS are chasing after me.', remember?"

"Not necessarily." Becky shrugged.

Sasha simply turned to Becky and looked at her.

"Girls can chase after girls." Becky said, shrugging again.

Dana chuckled.

"Talk less." Sasha said, before turning back to Charlotte.

"Alright, Becky, take us from the top." Charlotte said, trying to remember all of the gender related words in the song, and where in the song they appeared.

"One... two... one, two, three, go!"

* * *

The backpack phone began ringing again.

"Your turn." Seth said.

Roman sighed, reaching in the backpack to grab the phone. He answered it.

"Hey..." said a seductive sounding female voice into the phone.

"Who's this?" Roman said, slightly interested.

"Alexa. Is this not Dean? Did I call the right number?"

"Uh, Dean's not available right now."

"Wow, sorry to hear that... Um... would you happen to be in possession of his backpack?"

"Uh...yeah?"

"Do you know Dean's prices?"

"Prices?"

"I'll take that as a no. Anyway, he usually charges me about... $5." Alexa lied.

"I'm not following." Roman said.

"Just meet me at the corner of Main and 14th, with the backpack. I'll take out what I need, and give you the money."

"Um... alright cool."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Roman hung up.

"Who was that?" Seth asked.

Roman didn't respond, he just opened the backpack. He pulled out a large brick of cocaine.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Seth said, jumping back.

Roman pulled out several more, before pulling out 2 bags of weed, and several bags of pills.

"Dude, we've been walking around with this shit!?" Seth asked, angrily calling Dean back.

"I just agreed to meet this girl on the corner of Main and 14th..." Roman said, nervously.

"WHY!?"

"I... she... she sounded hot... and I didn't know it was going to be a drug deal!"

Seth hung up the phone.

"Dean's not answering. Put this shit back in that bag, and throw it in your bedroom or something."

"Why MY bedroom!?" Roman asked.

"Because I had it last night!"

"Okay, I'm gonna meet this Alexa girl, get this money, then I'm putting it back."

"You're gonna SELL that stuff?"

"I mean... she's only giving me $5... $5 can't buy a lot of drugs, can it?"

"I don't know! I'm not a drug dealer!"

"You're going with me, right?"

"WHAT!?" Seth yelled.

"What if it's a set up. Haven't you seen movies?"

"Great. Get me killed too."

Seth's phone vibrated, as he received a text message.

"Who's that?" Roman asked.

"It's Dean. He said, 'can't talk right now, guard is too close, if Alexa tries to buy from you, Blue Blowfly is $15 a pill, it's in the bag with the gold star sticker on it.'."

"Text him back and say okay."

"What!? Say okay!?"

"Look, Dean comes back next week. Worst case scenario, we make like 3 drug deals. I mean come on. It sounds kinda fun, and it'll be a hell of a story."

"No, what's gonna happen is, we're gonna sell this girl these pills, and we're gonna put the rest back. Then, we're not answering that phone, and we're not touching that backpack until Dean gets home. THEN, when Dean gets home, we're gonna beat the hell out of him for getting us into this mess."

"Deal." Roman shrugged, putting on the backpack.

Seth sighed and unwillingly followed Roman out of the door.

* * *

" _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl!_ "

The five girls looked at each other.

"If we play like THAT at the open mic... we're gonna win!" Bayley said.

"Let's practice again tomorrow afternoon. Then tomorrow night, it's showtime!" Charlotte said, with a wink.

"It's so cold tonight. How is this even summer?" Becky said, warming up her arms with her hands.

"I know, right!? Don't you have a heater in here or something!?" Dana asked, looking at Sasha.

"I'm not cold." Sasha lied.

Charlotte remained silent.

The girls stood around a little while longer.

"Welp, let's get outta here. See you guys!" Bayley said, as she and Becky left.

Dana started leaving behind them.

"Charlotte, you coming?" Dana asked.

"Yeah, in a second."

Once Dana walked out of the door and closed it, Charlotte put her ear up to it, in order to hear their footsteps. She waited until they went down the stairs.

"You can stay at my house tonight."

"I don't wanna stay at your house." Sasha said, sitting on the bed.

"Why?"

"I don't like you. We're not friends."

"At least let me bring you a blanket or something."

"I'm fine." Sasha said, grabbing a jacket. She put it on and layed on the old bed.

Charlotte stood still.

"You're just gonna watch me sleep?" Sasha asked, rudely.

Charlotte sighed, leaving the room.

* * *

Seth and Roman got back into the car.

"See? Nothing happened." Roman said,

"This time." Seth responded, turning on the radio.

"And I was right. She was hot."

Seth chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"She was okay."

"She's more than okay."

"She's not ugly." Seth shrugged.

"Oh I forgot... you're taken." Roman said, with a devious smile.

"Taken?"

"Yeah... Charlotte?"

"Charlotte's my friend."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, girls and guys can be platonic friends, blah, blah, blah. Save the cliche bullshit. You want her."

"...really really badly." Seth admitted.

"She seems interested in you, but don't jump the gun. Take it slow, but not too slow, where it seems like you're not interested, you know?"

"Why would I trust your girl advice when you've never had a girlfriend?"

"Seth, do you know how many women in the Bronx I've had sex with?"

"See that's the thing. You're good at getting girls to have sex with you, that's not what I want from Charlotte."

"You don't want sex from Charlotte?"

"No I, wait, yeah, yeah! I want sex from Charlotte, that'd be fucking awesome! But I want a relationship."

"Ew." Roman responded, pulling out his phone. Seth rolled his eyes at Roman's childish response.

* * *

At 1:30 AM, Becky slowly put on her shoes, trying not to wake up Bayley. She grabbed two cans of spray paint from under the bed, crept down the stairs, and made her way out of the door.

Eventually, she arrived at the train station. About 10 people were already there, spray painting beautiful murals and artwork on the blank areas of the station.

Becky stopped, as she saw a rather short guy, creating a picture of a black, red, and white demon.

"So you're The Demon King!?" Becky asked, excitedly.

The guy turned to her, looking almost equally excited.

"And you're another Irish person!?" He asked.

Becky smiled even harder.

"Wow, this is so cool... not us being Irish, but... meeting you. I love your work."

"Thanks. The name's Finn, by the way." he said, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Becky... I'm Badlass." Becky said, accepting the handshake.

"Ah, I should've known Badlass was from Ireland. You know, I haven't seen much from you around here until a few nights ago. You new around here?"

"Yeah, I just moved to New York like 2 months ago. I used to be up in New Jersey, and before that, I was in Dublin."

"Right, right. You sure seem to love black and orange."

"Well... those are the only two colors that I have." Becky shrugged.

"Why don't you ask someone to borrow some?"

"I'm new here. I didn't want to be rude."

"Everyone would give you some. Your work's really popular."

"It is?"

"Hey guys, this is Badlass!" Finn yelled, pointing to her. The other graffiti artists immediately came over, seeming equally excited to meet her, as she was to meet Finn.

"Wow... I didn't realize you guys liked my pictures so much, I..."

Becky trailed off, as she noticed a picture on the wall, right below her own painting from last night. It looked like glow in the dark paint. It had an array of silver, glittery, shiny dots around it, that resembled diamonds. Inside, was neon green and neon pink letters, that read, "FEEL THE GLOW". Becky couldn't stop staring at it.

"Badlass... you alright?" Finn asked.

"Who made that?" Becky said, pointing at it.

"Oh that? That's Storm. Her paint is really cool."

"Where is she?"

"She's not here tonight. To be honest, I've only seen her once. She's a ghost. No one ever sees her, but she makes her presence felt." Finn shrugged, continuing his picture.

"Well if you see her, tell her Badlass is a huge fan." Becky said, smiling, looking at the picture once more.

"Wanna trade books?"

"Books?"

"Yeah. Here in New York, every artist has a book. Just full of blank pages. You trade books with people, draw or paint something in their book, then you trade back the next time you see them. It's like a cool way to remember artists if you move, or they disappear or something."

"That's really cool... I'll have to get one."

"Well if you get one by tomorrow night, I'll trade with ya." Finn said with a smile.

Becky stood, in shock.

"...you okay?" Finn asked.

"I just... wow... the most popular street artist in New York wants to trade books with me." Becky said, with an enamored smile.

"Who me? I'm just a guy who can paint straight lines... See you around, Badlass."

Becky waved to him, as he disappeared into the night.

After he left, Becky continued to study the bright artwork below her last one.

"Feel The Glow..." she said, almost being hypnotized by it.


	4. Small World

"How do you not have a car?" Sasha asked, still unhappy about the whole situation.

About 40 minutes earlier, Charlotte offered to TAKE Sasha to breakfast. Now, they were walking there.

"I have a car, I just can't drive it."

"You're 18."

"I don't have my license." Charlotte sighed.

"Well maybe..."

Sasha trailed off, seeing a familiar car approaching them.

When the car slowed down, passing the girls, Sasha noticed Vince in the driver's seat, winking at her.

Sasha sighed, as she kept walking with Charlotte.

"Who was that?" Charlotte asked.

"Vince. He's this guy that pays my friend Alexa for sex."

"Oh wow... why did he slow down?"

"I don't know. I guess he likes me." Sasha shrugged.

"Creepy."

"I almost considered doing it..."

"...doing what?"

"...working with Alexa." Sasha muttered.

"Why!?"

"I really wanted that guitar."

"If I had known you wanted it that bad, I would've just gave it to you." Charlotte said, with a laugh.

Sasha gave a fake laugh in response.

"Apparently Becky's boyfriend knows someone at the venue and she managed to get us put up last."

"That's perfect. We'll be the last thing everyone hears." Sasha said, with a smirk.

As they walked into the restaurant, Sasha imagined AJ Lee, walking out of the venue with their performance fresh in her mind.

* * *

Roman was at home, alone, staring down the backpack.

All of a sudden, the phone inside began ringing. For a moment, Roman was certain that the intensity of his stare was somehow the cause of the phone call. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Roman, it's Dean."

"Okay?" Roman said, sitting down on his bed.

"Look, I'm not coming back next week."

"Why not? You said they got nothing on you."

"Someone snitched!"

"Well... that person could be lying, they still don't have any proof."

"Yeah, but before, they had to prove I was guilty. Now they have more justification, so I gotta prove my innocence."

"What have your parents said?"

"Nothing really. They got me a lawyer." Dean shrugged.

"They really got you a lawyer!?"

"They think I'm innocent. Got me a real top notch guy too. Name's Otunga or something."

"Well I hope everything works out."

"Oh, by the way. The backpack. Take it to 143 Lebanon Street in Brooklyn, and tell Del Rio that I'm gonna be jammed up a little longer than I originally thought."

"All the way in Brooklyn!?"

"Yeah, gotta go." Dean said, hanging up.

"But who is... Del Rio... Wait... That's the angry guy, he wants me to meet him in person!?"

Roman immediately called Seth on his own cell phone.

"Hello?" Seth asked.

"We gotta take the backpack to 143 Lebanon Street in Brooklyn."

"Thank god!" Seth exclaimed, taking a sigh of relief. He smiled a bit, as Roman sat on the other line, confused.

"Why?"

"That thing's finally gonna be off our hands."

Roman shrugged.

"That's one way to look at it I guess."

"I'll pick you up at like 6 and we'll head over."

"Isn't Charlotte doing some open mic thing at 6?"

"Then we'll go at like 3. It's a 40 minute drive both ways so we should be back by 5."

"Well you better hurry up because it's 2:20."

"Alright, quick shower, then I'll be there."

"See ya when you get here, Uce." Roman said, hanging up the phone.

* * *

" _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl!_ "

"Okay, Trust Fund, since no one else will say it, I'll say it. You're flat. You are so fucking flat, it's borderline ridiculous." Sasha said.

"...really? Do you guys think so?"

Charlotte turned to Becky and Bayley, who awkwardly nodded their heads yes. Then, she turned to Dana, who did the same.

"Where did I lose it at?"

"The first word of the song. You've been flat all day. And while we're fixing mistakes, Becky, take it easy on the fucking cymbal until the end of the song. You're drowning everyone else out." Sasha said.

"How was I?" Dana asked, nervously.

"You have 4 notes. If you mess up, we're kicking you out."

Bayley chuckled a bit.

"I'm not laughing. AJ Lee is gonna be in that audience."

"How do you know?" Dana asked.

"Because I know." Sasha responded, annoyed.

Becky sighed.

"Let's take it from the top."

"Wait." Charlotte said, cutting off Becky before she could do her countdown.

Charlotte pulled out her phone and began playing her father's band's hit single, 'Nature Boy'. She began singing along to the words. After a few lines of the first verse, she turned it off.

"Wow, I was really flat."

"Wow, you were." Sasha said, sarcastically.

"You guys ready? One... two... one, two, three, go!"

Sasha began playing the opening riff, for the 5th time that day.

* * *

"Maybe this whole thing will teach Dean a lesson." Seth shrugged, from the driver's seat. Roman sat in the passenger seat, next to him.

"Dean's learned a bunch of lessons. They don't work."

"He's never gotten into real trouble before."

"He's barely in real trouble now. Otunga's gonna get him out on parole while awaiting his trial, then he's gonna go in and they're gonna give him a slap on the wrist and send him home 30 days later."

Seth pulled up to the house, looking at his phone. The time was 3:45 PM.

They both got out, as Seth grabbed the backpack. The two nervous teens approached the door.

"Knock on it." Roman said.

"No." Seth replied, backing away from it.

Roman sighed and knocked on it.

A guy wearing a wife-beater and a bandana peaked out from behind the cracked door.

Seth held up the backpack.

"La mochila está aquí!" he yelled behind him.

"¿¡Qué!? ¿Por qué es la mochila... Espera, ya voy." A familiar voice said.

And older man with black, greased, slicked back hair opened the door.

"You're Del Rio, right?" Roman asked.

"¿Sí, Qué quieres?"

"Uh..."

"Si... Si means yes, so, um... Dean. Dean told us, to tell you, he's gonna be stuck in jail a little longer than he thought. And he told us to bring this to you." Seth said, holding out the backpack to him. Del Rio didn't grab it.

"Bajalo. Le dije a Dean, 'un mes'. I told him, 'one month'. He has one month to sell everything in that backpack."

Roman and Seth looked at each other, confused about what to do, or even say at this point.

"Well he's... he's probably not gonna be able to. So we're returning your stuff. I mean... there's a lot of money in there, and it's not like any of your stuff is missing. Everything he sold, the money's in there for it."

Del Rio smiled at Seth. If Seth didn't know any better, he'd think what he said got lost in translation.

"No quiero que las drogas. ¿Escuchame? I don't want the drugs. I want my money. And I don't want SOME of my money. I want ALL of my money. And you can tell Dean, if he can't get me ALL of my money, by the end of the month... he better hopes he gets a long prison sentence, because he'll live a lot longer in there than he will out here. Am I understood?"

"...not... not the Spanish part, but the death threat part was pretty clear and straightforward." Seth said, nervously.

Del Rio closed the door, and they headed back to the car.

"Call him." Seth said, as they got it.

Roman called Dean's illegally acquired jail cell phone. After few rings, they heard the loud prison yard.

"Hello?" Dean asked.

"Dean, you're fucked."

"What do you mean?"

"The guy wouldn't take the backpack. He said he wants all of his money. And he wants it by the end of the month."

"What? Did you explain to him that I'm not getting out as soon as I thought?" Dean asked.

"He doesn't care. He said if you're not gonna be able to get him his money by the end of the month, you might as well stay in jail. You'll live longer." Seth added.

"Okay guys, I need a huge favor."

"No." Seth said.

"I just need you guys to sell the rest."

Seth grabbed Roman's phone and hung up.

"Dude." Roman said.

"Dude what?"

"Dean really need us right now."

"I'm not risking my life because HE fucked up." Seth said, beginning to drive.

"If we don't, he's dead."

"...I'll think about it."

Roman texted Dean to let him know that Seth was thinking it over.

"You really think the Charlotte thing is gonna work out?" Seth asked, nervously.

"If you do it exactly how I told you to."

Seth took a deep breath, and sighed, making his way back to the Bronx.

* * *

"Okay, so I'm driving my Dad's van, and I'll drive over Bayley and our instruments. I don't know if you guys would be conformable in the back" Becky said.

"Seth's coming to take the rest of us." Charlotte smiled.

Sasha sat silently while the other 4 girls excitedly discussed the performance.

"What wrong, Boss?" Bayley asked.

"Nothing, just nerves." Sasha replied.

"He's here." Dana said, looking out of the window.

Once the girls had moved all of the instruments down the stairs, and into the van, Bayley and Becky said their goodbyes.

As Dana, Sasha, and Charlotte got into Seth's backseat, Becky began driving to the venue. Seth followed her.

"So, pink hair, you got a name?" Roman asked.

"Nope." Sasha said, her arms crossed.

Roman chuckled.

"You guys are gonna do great."

"Thanks, Seth!" Charlotte smiled.

"That's a cute backpack." Dana said.

"It's really not." Seth sighed. Roman glanced over at him.

"Yeah, it's kinda ugly." Charlotte said, taking a second look at it.

* * *

" _Yeah it's young X Factor, rapping faster than dasher, and laughing back at you actors for acting like you can answer. We ain't tryna starve more, that's what we working hard for, leaving head's spinning like Special K on the cardboard. Speaking of spinning, if you all with me, raise ya hands up and yell DJ Big E!"_

"DJ BIG E!"

" _If you all with me, raise ya hands up and yell DJ Big E!"_

"DJ BIG E!"

" _Yeah we rose, like a bouquet, best hip-hop in the state since the Wu-Tang, end of the song now, and you know our group name, not Sunday, not Monday, not Tuesday, it's NEW DAY!"_

The crowd cheered as the host came back on stage.

"GIVE IT UP FOR THE NEW DAY!" he yelled.

"Your boyfriend knows that WE'RE trying to win, right?" Bayley asked.

"He said he'd get us up last, he never said he'd go easy on us." Becky shrugged.

"OUR SECOND PERFORMER, GOES BY THE NAME, OF JILLIAN HALL!"

* * *

"UP NEXT, PLEASE GIVE IT UP, FOR THE EAST COAST MOVEMENT!"

"I knew they'd be here." Sasha said, with a smirk.

"Who are they?" Charlotte asked.

"Tamina Snuka, Nia Jax, and Alicia Fox. They're a band in Brooklyn. They kinda do a little of everything. A little pop rock here, a little R&B there. A dash of rap. They're good."

Bayley sighed, worrying about their chances of winning.

"Don't worry, we got the only thing that none of these other bands have. We've got a second generation rockstar!" Becky smiled, putting her arm around Charlotte. Charlotte chuckled.

Before Sasha could respond with a rude comment, the host came backstage to them.

"Hey, you guys up next?"

"Yeah." Sasha said.

"It says right here on the card, the Four Horsewomen are next."

"That's us." Becky said, pointing to herself and the rest of the girls.

"Yeah, but there's five of you."

"I know right? Ruined a perfectly good name." Sasha said, putting her guitar strap over her head.

"Well the rules of the contest say that the largest group can only be a group of 4."

"WHAT!?" Charlotte yelled.

"So... I mean, you guys can still perform. But you're gonna automatically be disqualified, because there's 5 of you. Unless one of you sits this out. Either way, let me know." The host shrugged.

"Sorry, Dana." Bayley said.

"Woah, woah, what do you mean 'Sorry, Dana'? If anything, the bass part is way more important than the keyboard part."

"Guys, we're not doing this. We're not arguing minutes before we go on." Charlotte said, stepping in between Bayley and Dana.

"Look. Dana was the last one to join. So the rest of you, just vote on whether she can perform with us or not." Sasha said, quietly playing the notes to the opening riff.

"Why aren't you voting?" Bayley asked.

"Because I don't care about winning. I care about AJ Lee hearing me play this guitar."

"I vote yes." Becky said.

"I vote no! The whole reason we did this was to win money." Bayley said, glaring at Charlotte.

"Well, Trust Fund, it's up to you." Sasha shrugged.

Charlotte nervously looked at Dana, then back at Bayley.

"I..."

* * *

"Our final group, has too many members, and is unfortunately no longer eligible for the grand prize, but nevertheless, give it up, for the Four Horsewomen Plus One!"

"One... two... one, two, three, go!"

Sasha began playing the opening riff, while looking through the crowd, trying to find AJ. Becky, Bayley, and Dana joined in, playing the parts that led up to Charlotte's first verse.

" _All of the girls, they try to act like me, all the boys are chasing after me, it comes naturally... yeah it comes naturally... Going out in public's a catastrophe, because they all want pictures and an autograph from me, it comes naturally... oh it comes naturally... They say to be like me, you have to practice every day in the mirror, but actually... it comes naturally..._ _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _A wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _A wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!"_

As Charlotte finished the chorus, Sasha found AJ, sitting between two huge bodyguards. The two made eye contact, and AJ smirked a bit.

" _The crowds all over wanna clap for me, the center of attention's what I have to be, it comes naturally... yeah it comes naturally... All of the boys that used to laugh at me, every single one of them are running back to me, it comes naturally... oh if comes naturally... Th_ _ey say to be like me, you have to practice every day in the mirror, but actually... it comes naturally..._ _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _A wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _A wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!_ _a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Girl!"_

The crowd began cheering and dancing as Sasha, Dana, Bayley, and Becky started playing the instrumental breakdown. Sasha continued her intense stare down with AJ, who held an amazing poker face. Neither one of them would break eye contact first.

" _Cause I'm a wheeling, dealing, kiss stealing, limo riding, jet flying, stylin' and profilin' Nature Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl!"_

The crowd loudly cheered, as the host returned to the stage. AJ Lee silently clapped.

* * *

"That was awesome!" Bayley shouted, with a smile, as they returned backstage.

Just then, one of the large bodyguards approached them.

"Hey, you girls, come follow me?"

"What? Why?" Dana asked.

"Shut up and follow him." Sasha said, recognizing him.

The 4 others looked in confusion before following him and Sasha through the building. Once they got into a dimly lit hallway, they saw AJ Lee, standing with the other bodyguard.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." Sasha muttered, under her breath, shaking.

"So apparently you know who I am." AJ said, still refusing to show any emotion.

"YES!" Sasha shouted, before Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, or Dana could say otherwise.

The bodyguard stepped in front of AJ.

"I'm... I'm sorry, it's just that... AJ you're my idol. I wanna be just like you. And I was hoping I could impress you. And maybe... you can take me under your wing like Lita did to you!"

AJ slowly pushed her bodyguard out of the way.

"You really did your homework, didn't you?" She said.

"I know everything about you." Sasha said, with a smile.

"You skipped the C# in the breakdown."

"W... what?"

"You skipped the C# in the breakdown. You were supposed to change keys to hit it and you didn't." AJ said, almost staring a hole through Sasha.

"Well I... I... The note is so insignificant and difficult to play, I just skipped it. I thought no one would notice."

"I noticed." AJ said, titling her head to the side, with a smirk.

All the girls fell silent, unsure of what to say.

"The Four Horsewomen?" AJ asked.

"Plus one." Dana muttered.

The other girls glared at her.

"What are you a cover band or something?"

"My... my father is Ric Flair." Charlotte said.

"Cute."

They stood silently a little while longer.

"What's your name?" AJ asked.

"Charlotte."

"Not you. Her."

AJ continued to make eye contact with Sasha.

"My, um, I, people call, I... I mean I... I'm, my, um..." Sasha trailed off, her brain unable to decide between "Sasha" and "The Boss". On one hand, maybe AJ would respect her unwavering confidence. On the other hand, AJ could embarrass her and demand her real name.

"We call her The Boss." Becky said, sheepishly.

AJ chuckled.

"Here." She said, with a smile. Handing Sasha a pink Sharpie.

Sasha nervously took it.

She handed a blue one to Charlotte, an green one to Becky, a black one to Bayley, and a red one to Dana.

"What are these for?" Bayley asked.

"When The Boss figures it out, she'll officially be under my wing."

Sasha almost melted. It took everything in her power not to run over and hug everyone in the hallway.

AJ handed Sasha a small piece of paper, with her phone number on it. Then, without another word, she left with her bodyguards.

Sasha held her hand out, and everyone gave her their markers.

"We did really great tonight, guys." Sasha said, putting them into her pocket.

"We should do this again sometime." Charlotte smiled.

"Maybe."

After Roman, Seth and the girls re-loaded the van, they said their goodbyes and got into their vehicles. Seth made sure to drop off Dana, Sasha, and Roman first.

Once he was alone with Charlotte, they pulled in front of her house.

"You were great tonight!" Seth said, with a smile.

"Thanks." Charlotte said, blushing.

"So... we'll hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Wait, hold on... you got a little something, right there."

Seth pointed at Charlotte's lower lip.

"What it is?"

Once Charlotte asked that, Seth immediately kissed her.

Charlotte just sat in shock.

"Seth... What just happened?" Charlotte asked, still in disbelief.

"I... I'm sorry, it was stupid. It was Roman's idea."

Inside his own head, Seth yelled at himself for taking Roman's advice.

"I, uh... wow. I gotta go, see you later, Seth."

"Wait, Charlotte, I'm really, really sorry."

"Don't be." Charlotte said, leaving the car with a smile.

Seth sat alone, debating on whether or not he should be yelling at or thanking Roman for the idea.

* * *

"Right on time. I was about to head in." Finn said, handing Becky his book.

"But it's only 1 AM."

"Yeah, I'm not really feeling well. I only came for your book, to be honest."

"That means a lot to me." Becky smiled, handing him the empty book.

"See ya around, Badlass!"

"See ya!" She called out, as he disappeared.

She began flipping through his book.

"He's got everyone... except Storm I guess..."

As she continued flipping. She saw a page that had nothing but a pair of purple shutter shades and the words "THE BO$$" written in gold letters.

"Hmmm. Small world." Becky said, looking down in the book with a smile.


	5. God

"The Demon King..." Bayley said, reading the cover of the mysterious book she found on Becky's bed. When she heard Becky's footsteps down the hall, she quickly put the book back.

"Hey, I didn't know you were awake." Becky said, entering the room with a smile. She picked up the book and left the room again, while Bayley stood still, thinking. Her phone began ringing. The screen read, "THE BO$$ - Mobile".

* * *

Roman and Seth sat in Roman's living room, staring at the backpack.

"So what's your verdict?" Roman asked.

"Hold on, I tried your little trick last night."

"Really? Worked, didn't it?"

"She looked at me like I had 6 heads, then she smiled and ran off." Seth said, angrily.

"You didn't do it right."

"I did exactly what you said!"

"Maybe she doesn't like you." Roman shrugged.

"Maybe she liked me until you told me to do THAT stupid shit!"

"Look, you got more important problems than Charlotte."

"That backpack, is not my fucking problem. That's Dean's problem. If you wanna make it your problem too, go ahead. Me on the other hand? I'm good."

"Real good friend."

"If Dean was a good friend, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Seth shouted.

"WE!? WE'RE in this mess? I thought you were good!"

"Okay fine! I'm thinking, okay! I'm debating!"

"Nah, you're good. I'll handle this myself. It's me and Dean's problem." Roman said, mockingly.

"Roman!"

"No, it's fine! Let Dean die. All you're worried about is your little rockstar-Barbie girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend and she has nothing to do with this, Roman, you know that!"

"Well while you're debating, I'll be helping my brother out."

Roman picked up the backpack and started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going!?" Seth asked.

"Don't worry about it."

"This is your house!"

"Then go home." Roman said, walking out and closing the front door behind him.

Seth sighed, sitting alone in Roman's empty house. After a few seconds, he followed Roman out of the door.

"I wanna help!" Seth called out, as Roman kept walking down the sidewalk.

After a few more seconds, Seth began running to catch up with Roman.

"Dude, what's your problem?"

"The three of us have an unbreakable bond, man... At least I thought."

"We do! I just don't think it's fair to us that we have to..."

Seth trailed off as his phone began ringing.

"Answer your princess, Prince Charming."

"That could be anybody."

"Check it."

Seth pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the screen. It read "Charlotte - Mobile". He answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Seth, we might have to hangout tonight instead of this afternoon. Something came up." Charlotte said, on the other line.

"That's fine, just let me know when you're free."

"Alright cool. See ya tonight."

"Bye."

"So who was it?" Roman asked, as Seth hung up.

"Okay it was her, but that doesn't prove anything."

"Dean would do this for you."

"Dean would do this just because he's Dean. Dean WAS doing this. That's why we're stuck doing it."

"We?"

"Yes! We! I'm helping!"

"...okay good cause I don't feel like walking around with this thing. You wanna give me a ride to Wendy's?" Roman asked, with a smile. All Seth could do was shake his head in disbelief and laugh as the two began walking to his car.

* * *

Charlotte walked up the stairs of the abandoned apartment. She re-read the text she received 25 minutes ago. "THE BO$$: Come to the office, I need you". Once she made it to "THE BO$$'S OFFICE", she opened the door. She stepped back, noticing several things catching her off guard. The first of which, was Bayley presence. Bayley was not only there, but looked like she had been there for quite a while. Also, Becky was there, holding all 5 sharpies. The final strange thing that Charlotte noticed, was Sasha herself. The girl looked like she hadn't slept, and she was wearing the exact same clothes from the performance the night before.

"You guys are hanging out?" Charlotte asked.

"We are far from hanging out." Bayley said, sounding annoyed.

"I'm trying to figure out the Sharpies." Sasha said, her tiredness and hopelessness dominating her voice.

"Maybe each color represents a mood, and you have to play a song in each mood for her." Becky suggested, eyeing down the markers.

"Carrot Top, just hand me my markers and leave if you're gonna say stupid shit like that." Sasha managed to say, rubbing her forehead.

Becky sighed, and handed them to Charlotte.

Charlotte stood frozen as the 3 girls stared at her for an idea.

"Boss, have you even slept since the performance?" she asked.

"A lot of stuff has happened since the performance. I don't wanna talk about it. Do you have an idea or not?"

"No."

"Maybe you're supposed to color your guitar strings." Bayley suggested.

Sasha looked up at the ceiling, before looking at Bayley.

"There's 5 Sharpies and 6 strings, genius."

"Yeah, that means you leave one clear, then all the strings would be different colors."

Becky and Charlotte turned to Bayley, slightly impressed.

"That makes no sense, why would I do that?" Sasha asked, dismissively.

"AJ's a very unorthodox artist, you know that. You got the high E, the B, the G, the D, the A, then the low E. Maybe her mind doesn't work like that. Maybe she practices with colored strings, and she memorizes them as the blue string, the red string, and so on."

"That's stupid."

"That's the smartest thing anyone's said in the past hour." Becky yawned.

Charlotte looked confused.

"You guys discussed this for an hour before inviting me over?"

"Blondes aren't known for being notoriously smart." Sasha shrugged.

Bayley grabbed the guitar and began coloring the top string with the pink Sharpie.

"I'm gonna send AJ a pic when you're finished. If you end up making my guitar look stupid for no reason, I swear to god I-"

"That's not your guitar." Charlotte said, with a smile.

Sasha simply rolled her eyes in response. Eventually, Sasha began to zone out. As she began to fall asleep, she envisioned what happened after Seth dropped her off. The sound of her mother's terrified screams in her head was interrupted by the 5'10 blonde girl standing in front of her.

"Boss!?" Charlotte yelled.

"Huh? What? I'm... I'm here, what's going on?"

"All done." Bayley said, holding the guitar.

Sasha frowned at it, before taking a picture and texting it to AJ.

The 4 girls waited a few minutes, until Sasha's phone vibrated.

"She said, 'wow... under 24 hours, you're quick. Meet me with your band members at 7 PM at 619 West Burberry Ave'."

Charlotte found it weird that Sasha didn't even crack a smile. She simply turned around to plug her phone charger in.

"You're welcome. Let's go." Bayley said, walking towards the door.

"We'll be back at like 6:30." Becky said, with a smile, following Bayley out of the door.

Sasha turned back around, expecting the room to be empty. Instead, she once again saw the 5'10 blonde girl, standing there.

"What happened last night?" Charlotte asked, sitting down on the bed.

"If I was gonna talk about it with someone, you'd be the last person."

"...well... I was the only one today that's noticed there's something wrong with you... I mean... you look like you haven't slept, you're wearing the same clothes from last night, you're in an even worse mood that usual-"

"Why do you care?" Sasha asked, cutting her off.

"Because... because I'm a good person."

"You're not a good person, morality is a spectrum."

"Oh, so now the thief is gonna give me lesson on morals."

"You thought I was homeless, and instead of giving me all of your money, you bought a guitar you didn't need, and gave me $10. Was that being a good person?"

"I didn't have to give you anything."

"But you did, because you're a 'good person'. But you didn't give me ALL of your money, because you're not THAT good of a person."

"What's your point? And by the way, you never gave us that $10 back."

"And I'm not going to. My point is, not everything can be separated into good and bad so easily."

"Okay, I guess I agree but that doesn't answer my question. What happened last night?"

"My dad caught my mom trying to sneak me in last night, and he beat her up in front of me... and when I tried to run into the house and help, he stood over her with a bat and said that if I stepped foot in the doorway, he was going to bash her head in with it... so I left."

"WHAT!? ARE YOU OKAY!?" Charlotte yelled in shock, running over to hug her. Sasha pushed Charlotte away.

"Don't." Sasha said, coldly.

"Come to my house and get a shower."

"Okay."

Charlotte looked shocked. She didn't expect Sasha to agree so quickly, considering how stubborn she'd been since they met a few days ago.

"Uh... cool, let's go." Charlotte said, leading Sasha out of the room.

* * *

"Pleasure doing business with you, boys." Vince said, with a smile.

"You too sir." Roman said, with an awkward smile. Seth grabbed the backpack, and the two boys left the house.

"Why does Dean even do this shit?" Seth asked.

"It wasn't that bad. He seemed like a nice old man. A little on the weird side though."

"Whatever man. I gotta get ready, I kinda have a date with Charlotte tonight."

Seth's phone began ringing.

"Speaking of." Seth said, with a smile.

"Cute." Roman replied, rolling his eyes.

"Hello?"

"Hey Seth, we can't hang out. Something came up."

"What came up?"

"I uh... music stuff. I really can't reveal any details, but it's really important. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be cancelling."

Roman looked skeptically at the phone.

"Uh... okay, we'll hang out another time I guess." Seth said, failing to hide his disappointment.

"I'm sorry..."

"You're fine. Bye."

"Bye."

Seth hung up.

"...'I uh...music stuff'? Dude, she's totally lying."

"Shut up." Seth said, getting into his car.

* * *

After a long silent walk, Sasha and Charlotte arrived at the Flair residence.

"I'll be right back." Charlotte said, as soon as they entered the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm getting your shower ready and everything."

As Charlotte went upstairs, Sasha nervously sat on the couch. She began looking around the room, immediately hating the environment. It looked like a sitcom house to her. Cheesy family pictures on the wall, stairs in the living room leading up to what was probably an even more cliche looking second floor. Sasha noticed one of the family pictures was at a beach. She grabbed it to take a closer look. In the picture, she recognized a little girl, who she assumed to be Charlotte, and a man, who she assumed was her father. She also saw a woman, a boy with dark hair who looked about 15, and a very little boy, who looked almost identical to Charlotte. Sasha put the picture back when she heard footsteps coming down the staircase.

"Hey..." Ric said, confused, as he slowly entered the living room.

"Hey, I'm the guitarist from your daughter's band."

"MY DAUGHTER'S WHAT!?"

Just then, Charlotte started coming down the stairs.

"This sounds like a family issue, I'll be in the bathroom." Sasha said, going up the stairs.

"Family issue? What's going on?" Charlotte asked, confused.

"What are you doing in a band!?"

"Band? I'm not in a... I mean... okay, now that I think about it guess I kinda am."

"Charlotte, we discussed this!"

"You said I could do the open mic, you just weren't paying for it."

"I didn't expect you to go out and get the money and join a band, I expected you to pout about it in your room for a little while, then get over it!"

"Then maybe you don't understand just how serious I am about this."

"Understand how serious I am. You're NOT in that band anymore."

"You're making me quit?"

"I'm quitting for you."

"Dad, you can't just-"

Before Charlotte could finish her sentence, Ric left the house through the front door.

* * *

"Ambrose. Phone."

Dean looked at his cellmate and nodded, as he picked up his silent phone. The name read "Papa De Drogas". He answered it.

"Hola?"

"Usted no es un comediante. You're not fucking funny." Del Rio said, on the other line.

"Relax. What are you so uptight about?"

"You had a very important order scheduled today, I-"

"Vince, rich guy, 94 12th Street? He got his shit."

"What!?"

"He got his shit, call him and ask him."

"You... you got it to him!? How!?"

"I told you, I'm not gonna let you down. In here, out there, there's no difference."

"Usted no está todavía lejos de los problemas. You're not safe just yet."

"Yeah but I will be."

"You better hope so."

"You'll get your fucking money, okay? I don't have any interest in dying or changing my identity and moving overseas."

"One month."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I gotta go."

Before Del Rio could respond, Dean hung up and called Seth.

"Hello?"

"Hey, you made that run for me, right?"

"Yeah. Quick question. What do you get out of this?"

"Del Rio buys the drugs from over the border, gets them smuggled into the country, finds some runners to sell it for 4 times the price he bought them for. He gets three fourths, runner gets one fourth."

"Wait, we get to keep some of the money!?" Roman yelled.

Just then, Dean and his cell mate heard the guard walking down the prison hall.

"Duh, why the fuck else would I do it? Look, dinner is soon. It's mystery meat night again, I gotta go. Peace."

Dean hung up and threw the phone into his pillow case.

"Slop hall, come on." The guard said, opening the cell. Dean and his cellmate followed him.

* * *

AJ sat at a desk, quietly strumming on an acoustic guitar almost as big as her entire body.

Her bodyguard entered the room.

"Hey AJ, there's-"

"Blonde hair, brown hair, pink hair, orange hair?" AJ asked, cutting them off.

"Uh... yeah."

"Let 'em in." AJ said, putting her guitar to the side.

The bodyguard left. He returned with Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, and Bayley.

"Where's Plus One?"

"She's taking guitar lessons. Her class is right now." Charlotte said.

"Cute. Pop quiz. Who's the most important member of the band?"

"Uh..." Charlotte began.

"That would be me." Sasha smiled.

"Wrong." AJ said, coldly.

The girls looked confused. Charlotte nervously raised her hand.

"Me?"

"What's your name, orange?" AJ asked.

"Becky."

"Becky is the heartbeat of the band. If you guys are performing a mile away from me, the first thing I'm gonna hear is Becky. She determines the tempo, if she screws up, everything falls apart."

The girls stood in silence, thinking about what AJ was saying.

"Everyone that's taller than 5'5, please leave the room." AJ said.

The four girls turned to each other, again, confused. Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley slowly walked out of the door and closed it.

"Have a seat, Boss."

Sasha nervously sat in the chair in front of the desk.

"Let me let you in on a little secret. You're not gonna believe me, but... I'm God."

Before Sasha could even fully process what she'd just heard or ask any questions, AJ continued speaking.

"I know this because whenever I pray, I'm the only one that hears it. And whenever I pray for something to happen, it only happens if I make it happen myself. Makes sense, right?"

"I... I guess when you put it that way." Sasha shrugged.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"I think you're a genius. All geniuses are crazy. Sane people can't make art. When they do, it's boring."

"You're really good at this whole brown-nosing thing."

"I'm not brown-nosing, I know you're batshit crazy. But I also know you're the best at what you do. I'd listen to you ramble on for hours if it gave me the opportunity to get a fraction of your talent."

"You're still a little starstruck, but I can tell you're different than the other girls." AJ said, with a slight smile.

"What do you mean?"

"I see the little swagger you carry yourself with. You call yourself 'The Boss'. You have a bit of an attitude to you. I like it. The other girls? They're too nice. Nice people get stepped on in this business. Musically, Becky's the leader, but in real life, it's you."

"Thanks." Sasha said, with a slight smile.

"Steer them in the right direction. Don't let them do anything stupid."

Sasha silently nodded.

The two girls sat in silence for a bit, until Sasha broke it.

"So what now?"

"Impress me. You guys got my attention."

"That's it?"

"What'd you expect a record deal and a contract? You're under my wing. You have my number. Call me for advice, send me videos of your performances, all that good stuff, and I'll keep an eye on you."

"Right. Thanks."

"God is omnipotent. Do you know what that means?"

"All knowing."

"Very nice. Smart girl. I see and hear everything. Be careful."

The two girls shook hands, and Sasha left, to see her bandmates waiting outside of the door.

"What'd she say?" Charlotte asked.

"Mind your own business, Trust Fund."

Sasha walked past the girls.

Becky, Bayley, and Charlotte looked at each other in confusion before following her out of the building.


	6. Cross The Street

A man handed Roman $45, and they shook hands. The man continued walking down the street, as Roman got into the passenger seat of Seth's car.

"Who buys drugs at 6 in the morning?" Seth asked.

Roman shrugged.

"That guy."

"I'll see if Charlotte's up."

"Why?"

"I'll ask if she wants to go to breakfast."

"So you can get stood up again?"

Seth said nothing, silently seething. He put the car in drive.

"You alright, Seth?"

Roman got no response.

"Seth, I was just-"

"Stop talking, dude."

Roman sighed. The two continued to ride in silence.

* * *

A few hours later, Charlotte and Dana were walking down the 2nd floor hallway of the abandoned building. An hour before, Charlotte received a text from Becky, saying that she needed to grab Dana and come to The BO$$'s Office immediately. The shorter of the blonde girls knocked on the door and Becky immediately opened it. Bayley and Sasha were sitting on the bed.

"Guys! We're performing tonight!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Dana asked, confused.

Bayley sighed, explaining because Becky was too excited to.

"Becky said that live music bar and grill downtown needed a last minute replacement because one of those East Coast Movement girls is sick, so since they can't perform, she got us their spot."

"How?" Charlotte asked.

"Xavier." Becky smiled.

"How long is our set?"

"6PM to 8PM." Sasha said, her first words since Charlotte and Dana arrived.

Charlotte glared at Becky.

"2 hours worth of songs!? We don't know two hours worth of songs!"

"We did like 2 hours downtown to earn the money for the guitar." Becky shrugged.

"And we did Nature Girl like 10 times!"

"Correction, 14." Bayley said.

Charlotte turned to Sasha.

"We need a longer setlist. Boss, what can you play?"

"Anything."

"I need song titles."

"Black Magic Woman, Even Flow, Crazy Train, I Don't Wanna Stop, Survivor, Nature Boy, Anarchy In The U.K., Paint It Black, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, My Name Is Jonas, Cherry Pie, Free Bird, You Really Got Me, Heart Shaped Box, Beat It, most of Cliffs Of Dover, 21st Century Schizoid Man, every song on the Gorillaz's first album, Devil In A New Dress-"

"The Kanye and Rick Ross song?" Dana asked, cutting her off.

"Yeah. Bulls On Parade, Mississippi Queen, Cult Of Personality-"

"ALRIGHT, I GET IT!" Charlotte yelled, cutting her off.

Sasha shrugged.

"You asked."

"Becky, can you play any of those?"

"Crazy Train and Paint It Black...oh, and Nature Boy of course."

"Beat It is really simple, Carrot Top could learn that by 6."

"Do you have nicknames for everyone?" Dana asked, closing the door and sitting down.

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." Sasha said, shrugging again.

"So, Becky is Carrot Top, Charlotte is Trust Fund, Bayley is..."

"Genius."

"Why?" Bayley and Dana said in unison.

"She figured out the sharpies."

"Well, who am I?" Dana asked, nervously.

"Plus One."

"Guys, focus! We need 2 hours worth of music we can play." Charlotte said, standing in the middle of the room.

Sasha simply nodded, adding up the times of the songs they decided on.

"Nature Girl, Crazy Train, Beat It and Paint It Black is 18 minutes. You know the words to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, right?"

Charlotte nodded.

"That's 21 minutes."

"We could knock out a huge chunk of time if we do Bohemian Rhapsody." Dana shrugged.

"That's a great idea!" Becky exclaimed.

"Bohemian Rhapsody? With one singer? Who else besides Trust Fund can sing?"

Becky raised her hand.

"I can carry a tune." Bayley shrugged.

"What songs did you learn in class, Plus One?"

Dana nervously looked down.

"Just Bohemian Rhapsody."

"Okay, here's the set. We'll start out with Nature Girl to get us comfortable, go into Paint It Black, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Train, Space Mountain, Beat It, and Survivor, that's like 40 minutes. We can do that and then just repeat it. Carrot Top, all the songs you don't know, just keep time. Plus One, go get your guitar, class is in session." Sasha smiled.

* * *

"Damn, Ambrose. You must have hella connections on the outside."

Dean shrugged, picking around at the grey food on his trey.

"I got a couple loyal guys."

"When you going to trial?" Another inmate at the table asked.

"Supposedly in 3 months. Unless they push it back. And they WILL push it back."

"Why so confident, Ambrose?"

"Cause my lawyer's fucking top notch. We're trying to get me on house arrest right now."

A prison guard approached the table.

"Ambrose, get your junk out of your cell and come with me."

Dean smiled.

"Damn, already? Otunga's good."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The guard said, leading Dean back to his cell.

The other inmates looked at each other in shock and confusion.

"So is my P.O. here to pick me up yet? I believe I'm owed 1 Galaxy S5 with an Arkham Asylum case, a pair of pants, my Black Sabbath shirt, I think I had some gum in my pocket too."

"What the fuck are you going on about, Ambrose?"

"Don't you gimme my shit back when I get released?"

"Yeah, we do. You're not getting released."

"What? Then why did you tell me to get my stuff out of my-"

"Because you're on lock down. Solitary confinement. We found the phone. Since this is only your first instance of contraband, you're spending 2 days in the hole."

"The hole!? This isn't a real prison, this is a city jail! You can't put me in solitary!" Dean laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, you're just lucky you deleted all the messages and call logs from the phone before we found it." The guard said, pushing Dean into the dark, padded cell. The only light shone through a very high window.

"You'll get your 3 meals a day through this little slot. 6am, 12pm, 6pm. Your throne is over there."

The guard pointed to the small silver toilet in the corner of the cell.

"When can I shower?"

"Well, it's Monday so... Thursday."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do in here alone in the dark for 48 hours?"

"You can fuck yourself for all I care."

"Well, if you insist." Dean shrugged, as the guard walked away.

* * *

"It was a joke." Roman said, into the phone.

"Okay?" Seth replied, emotionlessly shrugging.

"You've been moping around about it all day."

"I have NOT been moping."

"You've been acting like you're in the first half of an antidepressant commercial."

"Look, have you heard anything else from Dean?"

"Nope." Roman said, scrolling his messages.

"Well call me back when you do."

Before Roman could respond, Seth hung up.

* * *

5 hours later, the girls were at the end of their first 40 minute set, and MOSTLY everyone in the crowd had been enjoying it the whole time.

" _SOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUL SURVIVOOOOOOOOOOOOR!"_

As Charlotte finished the song, the crowd erupted in applause. Except for Alicia Fox and Nia Jax, who stood silently, glaring at them, in the middle of the cheering crowd.

The host grabbed the microphone.

"Keep it going for The Four Horsewomen!"

"Plus one!" Dana exclaimed, trying to shout over the roaring crowd.

"They'll return to the stage in 20 minutes!"

The girls got off the stage and made their way over to the bar.

"What can I get you ladies?" The bartender asked.

"Dr. Pepper." Becky smiled.

Bayley thought for a bit.

"Diet Coke."

"Same." Dana added.

"Sprite please." Charlotte said.

"I'll take a Dirty Shirley with Grey Goose. Hold the cherries."

"Can I see some I.D.?"

"On second thought, a regular Shirley Temple will be fine." Sasha said, as the girls laughed.

Alica and Nia joined them.

"You guys were great!" Alicia exclaimed.

Charlotte blushed a bit.

"Thanks, you guys are even better."

"No way!" Nia said, putting her arm around Sasha.

"Anyway, after the show, you guys should come to O2 with us." Alicia smiled.

Becky looked confused.

"O2?" she asked.

"Sorry, she's new in town." Bayley smiled.

Sasha looked over her shoulder at Nia suspiciously.

"I don't know if-"

"Yeah, we'd love to go!" Charlotte said, cutting Sasha off.

"Great!"

Nia and Alicia left.

"Is it just me, or were they overly nice?" Sasha asked.

The girls all shrugged.

"O2 is this under 21 nightclub on 3rd Street, by the way." Charlotte explained.

"Oh." Becky nodded, as the bartender brought their sodas.

* * *

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!" Dean yelled, unable to see anything. The only light he was provided was the sun through the window, which had now set.

He heard nothing but the chattering of inmates.

"I KNOW SOMEONE CAN HEAR ME!"

He got no response.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE! THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME KIND OF LAW AGAINST THIS SHIT!"

"BRO, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He heard an inmate yell.

"OH YEAH!? OR WHAT!?" Dean yelled back.

"OR I'LL SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU CAN FLOSS WITH MY SHOELACES!"

"I GOT MYSTERY MEAT STUCK IN MY TEETH ANYWAY!"

"YEAH, WHATEVER!"

Dean sat down, running his hands through his hair. He already warned Seth and Roman to never text him first, because the phone could be taken at anytime, so at least he didn't have to worry about that. But a new problem now presented itself. He was stuck here for two days, with no way to contact Seth and Roman.

* * *

"Yeah we'll just drop the instruments off at my place." Sasha said, from the back of the van.

Sasha, Becky, Bayley, Dana, and Charlotte all sat in the back of the van with the instruments, while Alicia drove, and Nia sat in the passenger seat.

"Take the next turn on Main Street."

Once they arrived, the girls began moving their instruments into the building, while Alicia sat in the van, with Nia. She began to call Tamina.

"Yeah, they practice in that abandoned building on Main Street. They were pretty good. We're about to take them to O2... yeah I'll let you know... alright, talk to you later... bye."

Alicia hung up as the girls began walking out of the building and towards the van.

When they got in, Alicia drove them the short distance to the nightclub.

"You should invite Seth." Dana whispered to Charlotte.

"You're right, I've been blowing him off a lot lately."

Charlotte began to call Seth. After a two rings, it went to voicemail.

She looked at the phone, confused.

"He hit ignore."

"What!? Are you sure?" Dana asked, as the girls got out of the van.

"It didn't go straight to voicemail, it rang twice, he saw it was me, and he hit ignore... maybe he hit it by accident."

Charlotte called again. After two more rings, it went to voicemail again.

"What the fuck?"

"What?" Sasha asked.

"He did it again."

"Who did what?"

"Seth hit ignore on my call. Twice."

"Maybe Roman has his phone." Bayley shrugged.

"Wait, which one is Roman again?" Becky asked.

"The cuter one." Dana said.

"Cuter!? Are you out of your mind!?" Charlotte asked, turning to Dana.

Sasha shrugged.

"They kinda look the same to me."

The conversation was ended by the loud music of Club O2 as they walked inside. They made it to the soda bar, when Becky felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to see Finn, holding her book.

"Finn!?"

"Small world, huh?"

"I... I thought... how old are you?"

"20."

"Really? You look older."

"Can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult."

Becky nervously chuckled.

"Can you wait right here for a sec? Like a long sec?"

"Sure."

"Hey, can you guys please take me home and back really quick? There's this book I really need, and-"

"Sure." Alicia said, as she and Nia began walking out of O2.

Becky left with them as Finn sat down at the bar.

"So... how do you know Becky?" Bayley asked.

"I've seen her around." Finn shrugged.

"After 2AM?"

"I don't wear a watch, I wouldn't know."

Bayley eyed Finn.

"So what's with the book?"

"What book? This one?" Finn asked, holding up the bland book with a red cover.

"The 'Demon King' book."

"Oh. That's mine. Becky was borrowing it."

"What's it about?"

"Well... hard to explain actually. It's like... a picture book. And a different story is being told by a different author on every page, through a picture. And all the stories culminate in one big story about an artist who's traveled and met other amazing artists. It's a pretty beautiful story actually."

Bayley rolled her eyes, not realizing how close she was to uncovering Becky's secret.

After about 8 more minutes, Becky returned, without Alicia and Nia.

"Thank you." Finn smiled, taking his book and handing Becky hers.

"Thank YOU." She smiled back, sitting next to Bayley, as Finn left the nightclub.

"Where'd those girls go?" Sasha asked.

"They didn't come in behind me?" Becky responded, confused.

Sasha shook her head no.

"I guess they're outside?"

"That's weird." Sasha said, getting up and walking towards the exit.

"What!?" Becky called after her.

"Why are they just sitting outside? That's weird."

Out of curiosity, the girls followed Sasha outside.

Once the exited the loud club, they heard the sirens of fire trucks.

"What's going on!?" Dana yelled over the sirens, as they looked around.

"THE BUILDING! OUR INSTRUMENTS!" Bayley shouted, pointing to the cloud of smoke emanating from Main Street.

Sasha immediately began running towards the building.

"BOSS! BOSS WAIT!" Charlotte yelled, as the rest of the girls tried to catch up to her.

Sasha managed to make it to Main Street, seeing several firemen dousing the burning building with hoses, to no avail. She kept running towards the building before she was stopped by a police officer.

"MA'AM, YOU NEED TO BACK UP!"

"NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Sasha screamed, trying to push him out of the way.

"RELAX!" Charlotte yelled, grabbing and restraining her.

Sasha began fighting and kicking to get free from Charlotte's grasp.

"BOSS!...BOSS!"

"FUCKING LET ME GO!" Sasha yelled, before elbowing Charlotte in the mouth, knocking her onto the ground.

"Charlotte!" Dana screamed, kneeling down next to her.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, TRUST FUND!"

Charlotte looked up at Sasha, confused, as she wiped the blood from her busted lip.

"What did I do!?"

"'YEAH WE'D LOVE TO GO'? I KNEW THEY WERE UP TO SOMETHING!"

The rest of the girls looked at each other in shock.

"Okay guys, I really, really don't think Alicia and Nia had anything to do with this. They were so nice! Why would they do that?" Becky said, putting her hands on her head.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING GET IT? WE'RE THEIR COMPETITION!"

"Look, Boss. I'm sorry. I'll talk to my dad and see if he'll buy us new-"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR DAD'S HANDOUTS AND I DON'T NEED YOU!"

"Boss, please! Just calm down!"

Sasha took a few deep breaths and turned around, taking a few steps away from the girls. She turned back around and kneeled down, next to Charlotte.

"Next time you see me... you better cross the fucking street."

Sasha stood up, and began walking away again.

"Boss!... How is this my fault!?... Boss!...Boss where are you gonna stay tonight!?...BOSS!?"

Sasha ignored Charlotte, and kept walking.

Dana, Becky, and Bayley stood in shock, looking between the burning building, Charlotte, still on the ground, and Sasha, disappearing in the distance.


	7. Number C

"BREAKFAST, AMBROSE!"

Dean groggily woke up, as the guard slid a tray through the slot. He loudly yawned as he crawled towards the tray.

He looked down at the dry waffle, the two tiny, pale, grey sausage patties, and cup of dry frosted flakes.

"HEY YOU FORGOT MY MILK!...HEY!...HEY I KNOW YOU HEAR ME!"

A carton of milk came flying through the slot.

Dean sighed.

"CAN I PERHAPS GET A FUCKING SPOON? OR A FORK!? OR A SPORK!?"

After a few minutes, a spork wrapped in plastic wrap came through the slot as well.

"You guys have amazing customer service. As soon as I get another illegal phone, I'm giving this place 5 stars on Yelp." Dean said, taking the utensil out of it's wrapper.

* * *

"The number you have dialed is not currently in service, please try again later."

"I can't get her." Charlotte sighed, putting her phone in her pocket.

Dana and Becky were sitting in Bayley's living room, on the couch. Bayley sat in the recliner chair alone, while Charlotte paced back and forth around the room, trying to contact Sasha.

Becky sighed.

"It's not like we can just go outside and find her, she could be anywhere."

"We could try." Charlotte shrugged.

"I don't think you want to find her, Charlotte." Dana said.

Charlotte looked confused.

"Why?"

"She's probably going to beat your ass next time she sees you."

"You know, if she was about 5 inches taller, 30 pounds heavier, and I actually did something wrong, I would be scared. Girls that are half my size with misdirected anger and shutter shades don't scare me."

"Well she sure as hell scares me." Dana said, raising her hand. Becky raised her hand too.

"I second that."

"Third." Bayley added.

"Look, Boss or no Boss, we still need to find a quick way to get instruments. We need ideas."

"What we NEED to do, is find those East Coast Movement girls and teach them a lesson."

Charlotte gave her confused look again. This time, at Bayley.

"Bayley's right! How dare they!?" Dana added.

"Wait... wait... so you guys are afraid of The Boss, but you aren't scared of that huge girl in their band?"

"I imagine YOU would be fighting her." Becky said.

"What?"

"Yeah, you're the biggest of us. You fight her, Becky and I can beat up Tamina together and Dana could snap Alicia like a twig." Bayley shrugged.

"Okay, first off, that's not fair at all, she would kill me and use me as a weapon to hit you with. Secondly, we're not fighting them. The best revenge is success." Charlotte said, finally sitting down on the couch.

Bayley and Dana sighed.

"Fine." They said in unison.

"Okay, let's look at our options. My dad's not gonna buy us new instruments... Bayley, how much money do you have?"

"I have $50 dollars left from my last paycheck."

"Becky?"

"I found $10 in my laundry last night."

Charlotte sighed.

"Dana?"

"My dad gave me a 20, but that's for my lunch."

"Well, you'll have to skip lunch today. I have a 10, so together, we have $90."

"That's enough to buy The Boss a new guitar, and we'll still have $7 to buy a keyboard, a bass guitar, and a drumset!" Bayley said, with sarcastic enthusiasm.

"Don't forget drum sticks too." Becky added.

"We'll figure out something. $90 is better than nothing." Charlotte said, desperately thinking of possible solutions.

* * *

Sasha sat in AJ Lee's living room, on the couch. The night before, Sasha received 3 text messages. One, from her cell phone service provider, telling her that the monthly bill hadn't been payed, and that her phone would be shut off at midnight. One from Charlotte, asking her to spend the night at her house instead of spending it cold and outside. She ignored both of those, and only acknowledged the third one, which was from AJ Lee, asking her to be at 410 Talladega Avenue at noon. Little did she know, this was AJ's actual home address. Sitting next to her, was a muscular woman, with blonde hair, and a streak of pink in it. Standing next to AJ was an almost ghostly pale woman, with black hair and dark lipstick.

"Boss, meet Natalya and Paige, Natalya and Paige, meet The Boss. She's a young guitarist I found at an open mic, and more importantly, she's Number C." AJ said, with a smile.

"Number C?" Sasha asked, confused.

"Okay. So my EX best friend Kaitlyn, who was the bass guitarist in our old band-"

"Takeover. You were the lead guitar, Kaitlyn was bass guitar and background vocals, Jay was the lead singer, Austin was the drummer."

"Wait, how did you know that? They were a cover band and they never even released an album or any songs." Paige asked, confused.

"Oh. I forgot to mention. She's my biggest fan." AJ chuckled.

"AJ mentioned it in her interview with Rolling Stone in 2013, it's a good read, I had the physical copy of the exact magazine until... never mind. Go ahead." Sasha said, stopping before mentioning that the magazine was destroyed in the previous night's fire.

"Well, she's building some sort of musical empire, with the plan to monopolize the NYC music scene, all just to spite me. She's been recruiting all kinds of young artists from Manhattan. She's got this rapper kid, she's got those East Coast Movement girls, a boy that sings country, and that's great, help out young artists, that's fine. What's not fine is, about 2 weeks ago, I did acid, and recorded some amazing solos, like, top notch, great stuff and then... wait by the way, doing acid is a bad idea. Don't do it. You're 17 so I'm totally not encouraging you to do acid. But I did it, and I went into the studio with my guitar and just started playing. And the music that was coming out of me was other worldly. It was my best material I've ever created, and I didn't even write it. Music notes just started appearing in front of my face, floating in the air, and I just started playing them. I ended up recording 4 song length solos from my studio session, I apparently had them all burned to disks, and somehow, someone that happened to be at the studio managed to steal all 4 discs. If Kaitlyn finds these, she's gonna release them as her own, or hold them for ransom and demand something from me, or even worse, make them into songs for her artists. Paige and Natalya are basically detectives. If they want to find out something, they find it out. They're on the lookout for the CDs, and now, so are you."

Sasha looked at AJ for a bit, just to take in all the information.

"So what does Number C mean?"

"Oh, Paige's code name is Number A, Natalya's code name is Number B, you're Number C."

"...C isn't a number though."

"Who determined that?" AJ asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Trust me, just roll with it." Natalya muttered.

Sasha simply nodded.

"No one I guess." Sasha shrugged.

"Exactly."

"Well why do you want me of all people to be 'Number C'?"

"You're young, maybe you know things and people that Nattie and Paige don't." AJ shrugged.

Sasha simply nodded.

"If you find me the discs, I'll be very pleased. If you find out who stole the discs, I'll owe you one."

"Trust me. I will." Sasha said, with a look of determination.

AJ simply smiled in response.

* * *

"LUNCH, AMBROSE!"

"Hey I learned my lesson by the way, so you can let me out now."

"You'll be out at 6AM tomorrow morning."

"What if I say sorry?"

"Shut the hell up, Ambrose." The guard said, rolling his eyes and walking away.

Dean stood still for a while, before kicking the lunch tray in frustration.

* * *

"So you had a change of heart, I see." Alexa said, with a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood of the situation.

She sat on the sidewalk, next to Sasha.

Sasha said nothing.

"It's not that bad. Trust me."

"Not that bad!?"

Before Sasha could continue yelling, Alexa cut her off.

"There's a pill you can take, right before you do it, and afterwards, you barely remember anything."

Sasha sighed, again, not responding.

"Well we've been waiting here for 30 minutes, you need a better dealer."

"Well my regular guy got busted, so-"

Before Alexa could continue, Sasha saw a familiar car park a few feet away from them. Seth got out and approached the girls, with the backpack.

"Hey, I-"

Seth stopped, dead in his tracks, recognizing Sasha. Sasha's jaw dropped a bit, as she recognized Seth.

"What?" Alexa asked, obliviously.

"If you don't tell blondie that you saw me, I won't tell her I saw you." Sasha said.

"Deal." Seth said, immediately.

"What's going on?" Alexa asked, still confused.

"We uh... we've met before. Anyway, here you go."

Seth and Alexa exchanged a bag with 8 pills and a $100 bill.

"It's 15 a pill, you're $20 short." Seth said.

Alexa gave a fake laugh.

"Just testing you." She lied, reaching in her pocket, and handing him a $20.

Seth took it and walked back to his car, before driving away.

"So you not only have sex with a weird ugly old guy, but you also have to buy expensive drugs to make you forget everything?"

"You gotta spend money to make money." Alexa shrugged.

"This doesn't sound worth it." Sasha said, again, having second thoughts.

"At this current moment, you're homeless, and everything you own was burned to ashes. You don't even have clothes to change into. If anything, you need this more than I do."

Again, Sasha said nothing for a while. Eventually, she broke her silence.

"What's he gonna make me do today?"

Alexa shrugged.

"Depends on his mood I guess, he's pretty unpredictable. My first day he gave me $800 and all I had to do was attend this fancy party as his 'girlfriend'."

"$800!? Just to go to a party!?"

"Yeah, he's weird. Come on." Alexa said, leading her down the sidewalk. Sasha reluctantly followed.

* * *

"Glad we could help!" Kofi said, with a smile.

The members of the New Day left Bayley's house.

Becky sat down behind the old drumset that belonged to Big E's uncle and began tapping on the drums with her fingers.

"It's kinda cool... retro..." Becky smiled, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Kinda sucks that there's no drumsticks." Dana sighed.

"It's better than nothing, and we got it for free. Can't really complain." Charlotte shrugged, sitting next to Bayley.

"I guess... And I could probably make some makeshift sticks out of something. What now?"

"Good question Becky...hmm... what now... Maybe we go to the music store and find Dana a bass guitar?"

"Or get Bayley a keyboard?" Bayley asked.

"I like 'get Dana a bass guitar' a little better." Dana muttered.

Bayley shrugged.

"Agree to disagree."

"I have an idea." Becky smiled.

"Go ahead."

"My dad owns a barbershop. We could use it to throw a party, charge people at the door to get in, and perform at it! Then we can earn enough money! Charlotte, you're pretty popular, just invite everyone you know!"

"WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE WE GOING TO PERFORM WITH!?" Bayley yelled.

Becky paused for a little while.

"Dammit. I knew I was forgetting something."

Charlotte facepalmed.

* * *

Alexa and Sasha sat on the couch of Vince's large, expensive house. Vince sat in his own personal chair.

"So. What brings you here today?"

"Well... my friend Sasha... she uh..."

"Look. I'm homeless, I need money, and I need a place to stay. And I know that you... like me or whatever, so... I think you understand what I'm saying here." Sasha said, refusing to make eye contact.

"Alexa, you can go now." Vince said, emotionlessly.

"But... I... I think Sasha would be more comfortable if I stay here s-"

"Goodbye, Alexa." He said, not even looking at her.

Alexa sighed, before patting Sasha on the back, and leaving out of the front door.

"I like you. More than Alexa."

Sasha said nothing, looking down at the floor.

"I'll make you a deal. You can stay here. And I'll give you anything you want, whenever you want it."

"Anything?" Sasha asked, looking at Vince for the first time since she walked into his house.

"As long as it's not over 50 thousand dollars."

"50 THOUSAND DOLLARS!?"

"But in turn, you give ME anything I want, whenever I want it."

Sasha sat for a bit, as if she was trying to calculate just how much money her pride was worth.

"Deal." She said, with a lot less excitement.

"Get on your knees."

"What?"

Vince chuckled, beginning to unbuckle his belt.

"Get on your knees."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

Sasha gulped, not moving. She looked at the front door, almost wondering if she should get up and run out of it. She stared at the door for a little while longer before getting up from the couch and dropping to her knees, in front of Vince, who was now standing.

"What are you waiting for?"

Sasha sighed, holding back tears, as she pulled down Vince's pants and underwear.

"Anything I want, right?" Sasha asked, looking up at Vince, as tears flowed down her face.

"Anything you want." He smiled, patting her on the head.

* * *

Charlotte, Dana, Bayley, and Becky entered the music store around 7PM. The lead singer of the group approached the cashier.

"Hey, we're looking for some really cheap deals. Anything in here under $30?"

"That mock guitar, and some CDs."

"What's a mock guitar?" Charlotte asked, looking at the shiny red guitar that the man behind the desk had pointed out.

"It's a guitar, it just don't play anything. It's a prop."

"We're not shooting a movie, sir, we're trying to buy real instruments." Charlotte smiled, quickly becoming impatient and agitated.

"Well maybe you should get some real money, then come back and buy some real instruments."

"How much is that bass?" Dana asked.

"$179."

"Do you have a used one in the back?"

"Yeah, it's $80."

"Any used keyboards?" Bayley smiled, hopefully.

"Nope. They hold up pretty well, I've never had a keyboard returned."

Charlotte sighed, as Becky began looking at the CD's.

"What's this?"

"What's what?" the cashier asked.

"AJ Lee 3/4."

Becky grabbed a clear case, with a blank CD that had 'AJ Lee 3/4' written on it in black sharpie.

"Oh. Somebody brought it in, they said it'll be worth a lot of money one day. I listened to it, it's just a guitar solo that goes on for like 4 minutes. If somebody added some words, maybe a bassline and some percussion, it'd be pretty good. At the moment, it's unsellable. No one wants to listen to someone play guitar for 4 minutes."

Charlotte's eyes got huge, as an idea popped into her head.

"How much is the CD?" Charlotte asked.

"You wanna BUY this thing? I can just play it for you."

"No. I want it. How much?"

"How much are you willing to pay for it?"

"Charlotte what are you doing?" Bayley asked.

"How much is the mock guitar?" Charlotte asked, completely ignoring Bayley.

"$20."

"I have $90. Is there anyway I could get that used Bass, this CD, and that mock guitar as like a package deal?"

"$115."

"I don't have $115."

"$110."

"My dad is Ric Flair. What if I throw in an autograph with the $90?"

"Your dad is Ric Flair!? What!? No way! I love the Horsemen! I was just telling my friend Brent the other day, at my funeral, when they lower me into the ground, they better be playing Nature Boy or I'm hopping out of that casket and-"

"Do we have a deal?"

"You're god damn right we have a deal, I'll get that bass for you right now Ms. Flair."

The cashier walked through the door to the room behind his desk.

"Hey, Charlotte. Quick question. What the fuck did you just do?" Dana asked.

"I got us instruments for our party that we're throwing at Becky's dad's barbershop."

"Um, hello! We don't have a keyboard!" Bayley exclaimed.

"Look. We'll take the CD, listen to it, write some words to it for me, add a drum part for Becky, and a bass part for Dana, then perform it at the party!"

"Do I even exist? What about me?" Bayley asked.

"You're playing guitar." Charlotte said, with air quotes.

"I don't know how to... wait, playing what guitar?"

"The mock guitar."

"It doesn't work. It's a prop."

"That's the point. We're gonna play the CD, and you're gonna pretend to play the guitar. If we charge $10 a person, we'll make enough money to buy all new instruments, then The Boss will forgive us and rejoin us once we show her her shiny, new, REAL guitar, and you'll have a new keyboard."

"OHHHHH!" Bayley, Dana, and Becky said, in unison.

"Forget what The Boss said, YOU'RE the genius." Bayley said, with a laugh.

* * *

"HOW MANY MORE HOURS!?"

"Go to sleep, Ambrose, we'll let you out in the morning."

"WHAT TIME IS IT!?"

"11 at night."

Dean weakly smiled, grabbing his own hair and rocking back and forth, performing an insanity act for the cameras that were watching him.

"7 HOURS, 59 MINUTES, AND 59 SECONDS, 7 HOURS, 59 MINUTES, AND 58 SECONDS, 7 HOURS, 59 MINUTES, AND 57 SECONDS, 7 HOURS, 59 MIN-"

"IF YOU SHUT UP WE'LL LET YOU OUT AT MIDNIGHT!"

"That's what I thought." Dean said, under his breath, laying down and putting his hands behind his head.


	8. Life Is Fragile

It was 7:30 AM. The 4 sleepless girls in the middle of Dana's living room all sat on the floor, Indian style, with a CD player in between them. Each girl held a pencil and a notebook.

Charlotte hit rewind, and play, for what had to be the thousandth time.

As the CD quietly played, Becky began lazily beat boxing the rhythm in her notebook. Dana struggled to stay in key while humming the bassline that Bayley wrote for her. Bayley hummed louder than her. Partially to help her hum in key, partially to drown her out for everyone else's sake. Charlotte sat silently, reading her lyrics in her head.

"You should just sing it." Bayley said, trying to peek into Charlotte's notebook.

Charlotte immediately closed it.

"I'm not sure if I like it yet."

"Well, my part is finished." Dana said, standing up.

"You're welcome." Bayley said, standing up as well. Becky stood up too.

"Where are you all going?" Charlotte asked.

"To sleep. The party is in like 16 hours." Bayley said, laying on the couch.

Becky yawned and made her way to the loveseat sofa and curled up into a ball on top of it.

"Wait!" Charlotte exclaimed, just before Dana began making her way up the stairs.

"Shhh!"

"Sorry. Come back, I... I'll sing it out loud and see if I like it."

Dana sighed and walked back to the center of the room, as Charlotte hit the rewind button and the play button once again.

Becky was half asleep, and began tapping her rhythms on the sofa, almost subconsciously.

Dana began humming her bassline. Charlotte looked over at Bayley's sleeping body, almost begging her to join in and correct Dana's pitch. She didn't.

"Alright, I come in at 3...2...1..."

* * *

"Yeah, that one's cute." Alexa said.

Sasha put the shirt into the already full shopping cart and continued pushing it. Alexa followed her, pushing Sasha's OTHER full shopping cart.

"So how much money did he give you?"

"He gave me his credit card." Sasha said.

"To keep?"

"Nah, I have a daily budget of $50,000."

"$50,000!? I get $500 to fuck him and you get $50,000 dollars just to suck his-"

"EXCUSE ME!" And older lady said, covering her child's ears.

"I... I'm sorry ma'am, I... let's go, Sasha." Alexa said, pushing the cart. Sasha sighed and kept pushing.

"You forget. I live with him now." Sasha said, sadly.

"You're right. You're basically dating him."

"Please don't say that."

"'Dating' sounds better than 'being a full time personal prostitute'."

"He told me to get underwear 'for tonight'." Sasha frowned.

Alexa sighed, handing Sasha a blue pill.

"Take it like 10 minutes before."

Sasha simply nodded, still pushing her cart through the mall.

* * *

"Hello?" Seth asked.

"Hey." Dean said, sounding worried.

"Dude where have you been the past few days?"

"Solitary. Look, I'm gonna text you a schedule of what I need done for the rest of the month. While I was in the hole, I calculated exactly how much we need to do to get Del Rio his money in the next 15 days. I'll send it right now."

"Alright but-"

Dean hung up.

"What did he say?" Roman asked.

"We got 15 days, and he's sending us a schedule."

"What happens in 15 days?"

"...we got 15 days."

"Alright, think about this. Del Rio wants all his money. He gets three fourths of the profits, we only gotta sell three fourths of the drugs."

"Yeah but how many deals have we done?"

"...like 4."

"Yeah we're gonna have to do a little better than four in the next 15 days."

Seth's phone vibrated.

"Got the schedule."

"What are we looking at?"

"...about 20 fucking deals a day."

"WHAT!?"

"Charlotte's having a party tonight. We can make like 30 if we head out there."

"You're bringing drugs to Charlotte's party that she didn't invite you to?"

"No one's 'invited'. We pay our ten to get in. Everyone that has $10 is invited."

"You haven't spoken to Charlotte since-"

"Since she stood me up for the eight billionth time. She should be glad I'm even going."

Roman chuckled.

"Damn Seth, you grew some balls overnight?"

Seth flipped him off.

* * *

"So where'd you get sticks?" Dana asked.

"Found an extra pair in the garage." Becky smiled.

"What time is it?" Charlotte asked.

"Like 7."

"Alright. So when we start, Big E will hit the CD player after Becky finishes counting off." Bayley said, standing next to the CD player, as Becky, Charlotte, and Dana stood in the living room, ready to perform the song.

"1... 2... 1, 2, 3, 4." Bayley hit play on the CD player.

Becky and Dana played along to the first 4 measures.

" _I see the way you look at meeeeee... I know you know what we could beeeeee... I wanna say what's on my mind, and we could leave the past behind, but it don't work that sim-pl-yyyyyy... I see the way you look at meeeeee... You know I know what we could beeeeee..._ _I wanna say what's on my mind, and we could leave the past behind, but it don't work that sim-pl-yyyyyy... I'm caught in the moment, and I don't wanna blow it, all I can do is own it, because my heart has been stolen, but, I don't wanna be more than frieeeeends... If that means we'll never be friends agaiiiiiin... They say that all good things must eeeeeend... But this is more than good it's great, and I don't want to make a mistake, no_ _I don't wanna be more than frieeeeends... If that means we'll never be friends agaiiiiiin... They say that all good things must eeeeeend... But this is more than good it's great, and I don't want to make a mistake, oh no..."_

Bayley mockingly began playing air guitar, getting a chuckle out of her bandmates, before Charlotte started the second verse.

* * *

Sasha slowly started to re-dress herself.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Vince said, putting her arm around her.

Sasha said nothing, fighting back tears.

"Come on, Sasha." He said, pulling her closer.

She pulled herself away, and continued re-dressing.

Vince sighed.

"I have a meeting, I'll be back at 9."

Sasha simply nodded.

Vince gave her a kiss on the cheek, got up, and left the room.

As soon as he left, Sasha began crying.

* * *

"How did you get so many people here!?" Bayley asked, watching Xavier collect the money as more people came in.

"I posted about it on Facebook." Charlotte smirked.

Kofi stood behind a counter, serving drinks and snacks, while Big E lingered around the CD player.

"What's up?" a familiar voice said, from behind Charlotte.

She turned around to see Roman Reigns, wearing the burgundy backpack.

"Oh... uh... hey, Roman, how's it going?"

"Good. I figured we'd stop by, ya know, check out the party."

"...we?"

Charlotte looked past Roman, and saw Seth, handing Xavier a $10 bill, and walking into the barbershop.

"Oh my god."Charlotte said, running over to Seth.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Charlotte asked, angrily.

"I can't be here?" Seth smirked.

"No! You can't be here!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you here!"

"But I paid to get in."

"Then get your $10 back and get the fuck out!"

"Nah, I'll stick around." Seth said, walking into the crowd of people.

"Seth! SETH! DAMMIT!" Charlotte said, storming off. Eventually, she found Becky, sitting near the instruments in the corner of the room.

"You, forgot your name, I know it stars with a B, anyway, we have a big problem."

"My name is Becky."

"Right, Becky, we can't do the song, so we have to come up with another plan."

"We... we can't do the song? Why?"

"Seth is here!"

"So?"

"...SO!?"

"...I'm confused."

Charlotte groaned, and went to go find Dana, as Bayley walked over to Becky, and put on the mock guitar.

"Play something." Becky said with a smile.

Bayley rolled her eyes.

"Nah, I'll save it for the song."

"About that. Charlotte said we can't do the song."

"What!?" Bayley said, taking off the guitar and running after Charlotte.

"Charlotte! Charlotte!"

Charlotte immediately turned around.

"Bayley, look, we have to switch the song somehow."

"How can we switch the song?"

"I... I don't know but we have to, I can't sing that song in front of you know who."

"Who is 'you know who'?!"

Charlotte sighed and grabbed Bayley's wrist, dragging her back to the corner with Becky and the instruments.

"The song is about Seth, and he's here." Charlotte whisper-yelled.

"...he might not notice." Bayley shrugged.

"Unless he goes deaf within the next 20 minutes, I'm pretty sure he'll figure it out."

"Do you want new instruments or not?"

"We can just tell people I lost my voice."

"And then they'll want refunds. They came to see us do a song."

"I don't see what the big deal is. Best case scenario, he'll understand and feel the same way, worst case scenario, he gets mad and leaves and never talks to you again." Becky shrugged.

"You don't think that's a big deal!?"

"...it sounded better in my head."

Just then, Dana joined them.

"What's up, guys?"

"Charlotte wants to quit the performance." Bayley said.

"What!? Why!?"

"Seth is here!"

"Ohhhhh. Yeah, that's not okay."

"What do I do?" Charlotte asked, sitting down.

"Make him leave?" Becky shrugged.

"Tried that."

"Perform the song." Bayley said, slightly annoyed.

"Any other options?"

"Write a new one in the next 15 minutes." Dana said.

Charlotte put her head in her hands.

* * *

"I swear to god." Paige laughed, walking down the sidewalk with Natalya.

"An entire cake?"

"No, a cupcake, Yes an entire cake!"

"That's... wow... that's Teddy for ya... what's going in there?"

"...that's Keith Lynch's barbershop."

"Why is it so populated? Isn't is closed?" Natalya asked.

"Yeah, it seems sketch."

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the Four Horsewomen!" Kofi yelled into the mic, as the crowd cheered.

"Wait... Horsewomen... That's Number C's band. She plays guitar for them." Paige said.

Paige and Natalya walked over to the front door.

"$10." Xavier smiled.

Big E hit play on the CD as Becky and Dana began playing.

"That kid just hit play on a CD." Natalya said.

"Excuse me?" Xavier asked.

"She's not really playing that guitar." Paige said, nonchalantly.

" _I see the way you look at meeeeee... I know you know what we could beeeeee..._ "

"...SO NUMBER C'S BAND HAS A CD WITH JUST GUITAR ON IT!?" Natalya exclaimed.

Paige and Natalya immediately pushed Xavier out of the way.

"Hey! You owe me $20!" Xavier yelled, after them.

"I _see the way you look at meeeeee... You know I know what we could beeeeee..._ _I wanna say what's on my mind, and we could leave the past behind, but it don't work that-_ "

Just then, the CD stopped playing. Charlotte, Becky, and Dana all stopped, and turned to see Paige, holding the CD.

"So... you guys stole AJ's CD!?" Natalya yelled.

The crowd of teenagers stood confused. Seth and Roman left, counting the money they made from sales.

Charlotte awkwardly stood on stage, and turned to her band mates, who all stared at her. She turned back to the crowd, Paige, and Natalya.

"We... we didn't steal anything!"

"Really? Because it looks like you stole AJ's CD from her studio session, and tried to use it to pretend it was a song you guys wrote." Paige said, twirling the CD on her finger.

"I... the-the CD-we-we didn't-"

"'I-the-the CD', you STOLE the song and pretended it was yours. Do you know what happens to music industry bootleggers in NYC? You don't even deserve this money." Natalya said, snatching the box of money from Xavier and handing it to Paige.

"Hey!" Xavier said.

"Now wait a minute!" Charlotte yelled, as Natalya approached the makeshift stage.

"Wait a minute what!?" Paige yelled back.

"We didn't steal anything! We bought the CD from the music store downtown!"

"So rare unreleased music is just sitting in a random music store?" Natalya asked.

"She's telling the truth!" Dana said.

"You're lucky all we're doing is taking the CD and the money." Paige said.

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING THE MONEY! WE USED A CD FOR THE GUITAR PART, BUT WE WORKED OUR ASSES OFF AND WROTE A DAMN GOOD SONG IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO THAT CD! WE EARNED THAT MONEY!" Charlotte snapped.

"Are you gonna stop us from taking the money?" Paige said.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I AM." Charlotte yelled, storming through the crowd, towards Paige.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! I know how we can settle this!" Natalya smiled, walking behind Becky.

"HOW!?" Charlotte asked, angrily, turning back to the makeshift stage in the corner of the room.

"Simple. Either we leave with the CD and the money, or we leave with the CD and the money, and you'll be cleaning your drummer's brains off of the fucking ground." Natalya said, immediately putting Becky in a headlock and pulling out a gun, holding it against her temple.

"BECKY!" Xavier yelled, as the crowd of teenagers screamed, and began running out of the barbershop. Kofi, Big E, and Xavier stood in shock, unable to decide what to do.

"LET HER GO!" Charlotte shouted, as Bayley and Dana stood, frozen in fear. Becky sat silently, with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Natalya asked, cocking the gun.

"I SAID LET HER GO!"

"Forgetting something?" Paige asked, holding up the box of money.

"TAKE THE FUCKING MONEY, LET HER GO, AND LEAVE!" Charlotte yelled, at the top of her lungs.

Natalya pushed Becky into the drumset, knocking it down. Paige took the metal box of money and smashed it into a mirror on the wall, breaking it.

"That's not necessary." Charlotte said, quietly.

Natalya grabbed a barber's chair, and threw it into the another mirror, breaking it as well, before slamming it onto the ground, knocking one of the arm rests off of the chair.

"And you can forget about ANY connection between the Four Horsewomen and AJ Lee." Paige said.

"WE DIDN'T STEAL THE CD!" Bayley exclaimed.

Natalya kicked the third and final mirror, breaking it, before throwing the snack table across the room.

"We don't like liars in this industry." Paige said, with a cold stare.

Bayley sighed.

"If you have the other 3 CDs, or you know where they are, I'd start talking immediately." Natalya said.

No one said anything.

"If we find out you have them, we won't just be breaking chairs and mirrors." Paige said, coldly. The two girls left, leaving an eerie silence in the destroyed barbershop.

After about a minute of silence, Becky got up and began running out of the barbershop, still crying.

"BECKY!" Xavier yelled.

Xavier and Bayley both ran after her.

Charlotte, Dana, Big E, and Kofi all nervously looked at each other.

"Thanks for helping with the party, guys. I'm sorry you had to deal with all that." Charlotte said, sadly.

"We should've done something." Kofi said.

"There's nothing you could've done. It all happened so fast." Dana said, looking around the destroyed room.

"So now what?" Big E asked.

"So now, we still have no guitarist, no guitar, an old beat up drumset, that now has a broken cymbal, and AJ Lee is gonna think we're lying thieves... maybe Dad was right..." Charlotte said, picking up the damaged drumset.

* * *

It was about 2AM. Becky had been sitting at the train station, alone, for a little over 2 hours.

"You okay?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Becky didn't even acknowledge whoever it was.

"Hey, you... sitting there all sad... with the orange hair."

"That's Badlass, she's been sitting there for a while." said a voice she recognized as Dustin, an older artist, known as "Goldust".

A girl with long black hair and rather dark brown skin sat in front of Becky, making eye contact with her. Becky noticed that the girl had a backpack on.

"Bad day?" the girl asked.

"Bad night." Becky responded, quietly.

"Paint about it. What colors you want?"

Becky sighed.

"Orange and Green."

The girl took off her backpack, and took out two cans of spray paint, handing them to her.

Becky immediately began working on a picture.

"I need black." Becky said.

The girl immediately pulled out a black can of spray paint and handed it to her. After about 20 more minutes, Becky stepped away from her picture. It was a dying orange rose with a green stem, with the words "life is fragile" written under it.

"Meh. It's alright." The girl said.

"You could do better?" Becky asked.

The girl chuckled.

"Girl, you don't even know the half of it."

Becky looked down at her own picture for about 30 seconds.

"Well if you can do so much better, why don't you-"

Becky turned around to see that the girl and her spray paint cans had both disappeared.

She stood in confusion for a bit, before looking back down at her flower.

"Meh." She said, in agreement, sitting back down in her previous position.


	9. Happy Birthday Boss

It was 6AM. Bayley was half asleep, waiting in the living room, on the couch. Just then, Becky entered through the front door.

"Becky! Where were you!? I've been worried sick about you! I called you 60 times!"

Becky said, nothing, sitting down at a table in the kitchen.

"Becky..."

"Do you know what happened to my mother?"

"...what?"

"Do you... know... what happened... to my mother?" Becky asked, making eye contact with Bayley from afar.

The thought never crossed Bayley's mind that something had happened to Becky's mother. She just assumed Becky's parents had gotten a divorce, like her own parents did.

"No." Bayley said, cautiously.

"5 years ago, we were at the bank... well, 6 minutes later, we were hostages in a bank robbery..."

Bayley put her hand over her mouth, realizing this story wasn't going to have a happy ending.

"The one guy grabbed her, and put her in a headlock, and held the gun to her head... sound familiar?"

Bayley gasped.

"Then he tried to walk her outside, to show the cops he had hostages... and in the midst of trying to do that, he accidentally pulled the trigger..."

Bayley ran over to her, hugging her close.

"I was 12 years old... and I had to watch that..." Becky said, staring off into space.

"Becky, I'm so sorry!"

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"For you!"

"I thought I was gonna die in that barbershop."

"Becky, it's okay! You're safe now. Trust me."

"Until when?"

"...until I say you aren't." Bayley said, hugging her even tighter.

"I'm gonna get some sleep." Becky said, standing up and heading towards the stairs.

"Me too." Bayley yawned, following her up.

* * *

"Sasha... Sasha..."

Sasha slowly woke up, to see Vince, standing next to the bed.

"What? I'm up." Sasha said, groggily rubbing her eyes.

"Alexa told me that today is your birthday."

"Uh... yeah, it is..."

"What's your favorite color?"

"...Pink I guess?"

"I'll be right back." Vince said, closing the bedroom door.

Sasha looked confused, before shrugging her shoulders and going back to sleep.

* * *

"So what do you have for me that's so important?" AJ asked.

Paige put the CD on AJ's desk.

"Oh my god! Where'd you find it!?"

"Funny story actually." Paige said, as she and Natalya sat down.

"The Four Horsewomen had it." Natalya said.

"...what?"

"Yep."

"How'd you know they had it?"

"Because they threw party, and played along to it, pretending they were performing an original song. They had a fucking mock guitar and everything." Paige said.

AJ looked confused.

"So... let me get this straight. The Four Horsewomen... Plus One... not only had one of my stolen CDs... but they also tried to pretend they wrote it!? And played along to it!? IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!?"

"That's what we walked in on." Natalya shrugged.

"Oh, Number C wasn't there." Paige noted.

"I didn't ask." AJ said, coldly.

"So what now?"

"...I gave them my sharpies... I invited that girl to my home... This is how they repay me!?... Get out, both of you."

"What?" Natalya asked.

"Get out, before I misdirect my anger towards you... NOW!"

Paige and Natalya immediately got up, running out of the room.

* * *

Bayley slowly woke up, hearing Becky's phone ringing. Becky was completely unconscious. Eventually the phone stopped ringing, but it immediately started again. Bayley looked at the caller ID. It read "Ms. Martinez".

"Why would Mom be calling Becky?" Bayley asked, aloud.

Just then, her own phone began ringing. Bayley saw the name "Mom" and answered.

"Hello?"

"Where is Becky!?"

"She's here sleeping, we're in the bedroom, why?"

"Keith's shop is completely destroyed! The floor is sticky from busted sodas! There's chips and cookies everywhere, there's a broken table, there's shattered glass from the mirrors all over the place, a broken chair, and this big ugly dented drumset in the corner, with a microphone, some speakers, and a guitar that doesn't even work!"

Becky slowly woke up.

"Tell her to get down here right now!"

Before Bayley could respond, her mother hung up.

"What's going on?" Becky asked.

"Well... your Dad got to his barbershop..."

"Fuck! It's open today!? He probably thinks the drumset is mine, he's gonna kill me!"

"If my Mom doesn't do it first."

Becky sighed, putting on her shoes.

* * *

"What are you guys doing right now?" Dean asked.

"Playing 2K." Seth said, as he and Roman focused on the game. Seth's cellphone sat on the table.

"Playing 2K? What about sales!?"

"Don't worry about sales." Roman said.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Seth yelled at the screen.

"Nah, Curry's just unstoppable."

"You weren't even open!"

"Nobody likes a sore loser, Seth."

"Excuse me, what do you mean don't worry about sales? Did you forget I'm in here or something!?" Dean asked.

"We got it under control... AND-ONE!"

"Alright now THAT'S bullshit."

"Nah, LeBron's 'unstoppable', don't be a sore loser, Roman." Seth said, in his low pitched Roman impression.

"CAN YOU TWO PAUSE THE GAME FOR TWO FUCKING SECONDS!?"

Roman paused it.

"1...2..." Seth said.

Roman unpaused the game.

"You better hit this free throw, Seth, no pressure." Roman said.

"Why do you two not care about whether I die or not all of a sudden!?" Dean yelled.

"Because you're not gonna die."

"How do you know?"

"Because drug dealing is easy. We figured it out at Charlotte's party. You just find suburban white kids who are eager to get into drugs, have no idea what a reasonable price is, and have plenty of mommy and daddy's money to spend." Seth shrugged.

"...how much did you make?"

"We were selling weed for $30 a fucking gram." Roman said.

"People bought that shit!?" Dean asked, laughing.

"Bought it? We couldn't keep them off of it. We made more money last night that we have since you've been in jail." Seth said.

"Bro, if you keep selling at $30 a fucking G, you can pay back Del Rio AND pay my bail." Dean said, still laughing.

"Anything else?" Roman asked.

"Nah, talk to you later."

Seth hung up.

"Order a pizza." Roman said.

"I'll order two."

"Let's be careful though."

"What do you mean?" Seth asked.

"The money, we can't spend too much of it. We still have to pay Del Rio in 14 days."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

* * *

Becky slowly walked into the barbershop.

"Becky, what is all of this!?" Keith yelled.

"I... Last night, I... I threw a party and..."

Becky sighed, looking around at the destruction. Just then, Bayley entered the shop.

"We both decided to have a party here last night, without your permission Mr. Lynch, and we're sorry for that by the way... things got out of hand, and people we didn't invite showed up, and they trashed the place and left... so whatever punishment WE'RE about to get, we deserve it." Bayley said.

Becky looked over at Bayley, confused.

"3 things. 1... Once I add up the costs of the mirrors, the chair, the broken clippers, and the money I'm losing by staying closed today and tomorrow, Becky, you will work in the shop, sweeping hair, until your half of the debt is payed. Bayley, your half will be coming out of that Dairy Queen check."

"...I only get paid every two weeks, Mr. Lynch."

"Then we'll be expecting your first payment sometime in the next two weeks." Bayley's mother said.

Bayley sighed.

"2... no more barbershop concerts."

"Agreed." Becky and Bayley said, in unison.

"And 3, this shop will be completely cleaned by two days from now."

"Deal... again, I'm really sorry, Dad." Becky frowned.

"No worries. I'm glad you told the truth... glad is the wrong word... I'm not glad at all... but at least you told the truth!"

"Get to work, girls." Bayley's mother said.

She left, with Keith, leaving Becky and Bayley alone in the shop.

Bayley took her phone out.

"Thanks." Becky said.

"Thank me? Thank you! You were about to take the fall for the entire thing! You would've been sweeping in here for a year." Bayley laughed, dialing a number. Becky laughed too.

"Hello?... hey, get Dana and get down here to the barbershop, we're cleaning it... stop complaining, at least you're not paying for mirrors... okay... alright bye. They're on their way." Bayley smiled.

After about 30 minutes, Charlotte and Dana walked into the barbershop.

"You okay, Becky?" Charlotte asked.

"Huh? Yeah... yeah I'm fine." Becky lied, with a fake smile.

"That's a sick mustang that just rode by!" Bayley said, running towards the front door, to get a better look. Dana followed her.

"Pink? They make Pink ones!?" Dana asked.

"It's turning around..."

The Pink 2017 Mustang GT350 parked outside of the barbershop, as Bayley and Dana struggled to see through the tinted windows. Just then, Sasha got out of it.

"IT'S THE BOSS!" Bayley yelled.

"FUCK! DOES SHE KNOW!?" Dana yelled.

"She doesn't look like she knows, she's smiling at me. Everyone just act natural." Bayley said.

Sasha walked through the barbershop door.

"Carrot Top!" Sasha exclaimed, hugging Becky. Becky, Dana, and Bayley put on nervous smiles, as Charlotte stood still, looking confused.

"Plus One! How ya been!?"

"Good, good."

"Trust Fund, Genius, how's it going?" Sasha asked, with a bright smile.

"What happened to 'next time you see me, cross the fucking street'?" Charlotte asked.

Sasha chuckled.

"You still remember that?"

"It was 3 days ago."

"Yeah, I was upset, I mean, I lost everything I owned. I felt worthless and I lashed out. You wouldn't know anything about that of course because you've never had to provide for yourself, but, I'm sorry. I said some things I didn't mean, and I apologize." Sasha said, with a smile, holding her hand out for a handshake.

Charlotte just looked at Sasha's hand.

"Come on, Trust Fund, it's my birthday. I can't get a handshake or a hug or something?"

"My name is Charlotte."

"I know what'll cheer you up. Let's get some new instruments."

"What!?" Dana asked.

"Seriously, Tune Gear is having a massive sale, and they have way better instruments than the music store around the corner, come on."

"We'll be right out. Happy birthday, Boss!" Dana smiled.

"Thanks." Sasha smiled back, exiting the barbershop, and walking to her car.

"...so when do we tell her?" Dana asked.

"...let's not and say we did." Charlotte said.

"Shotgun!" Bayley yelled, running out of the front door.

Becky flinched at the word "gun", before following her out of the door, followed by Dana and Charlotte.

* * *

After a short drive, the girls got out of Sasha's new car, and walked into the store.

"Genius, let's go get you a keyboard."

"How are we paying for this again?" Charlotte muttered to Sasha.

"Vince's credit card." She muttered back.

"Who is Vince?"

"The old guy."

Charlotte stood frozen for a second. Then it hit her.

"Boss, you're so much better than that." Charlotte said aloud, looking disgusted and deeply disturbed.

"We're not having this conversation right now." Sasha replied, with a fake smile.

"Seriously, you don't have to resort to-"

"Do you want new instruments or not!? Matter of fact, let's take a band vote. Who wants instruments!?" Sasha asked, raising her hand. Bayley, Becky, and Dana nervously raised their hands as well, confused.

"Good, come on Genius." Sasha said, grabbing Bayley's wrist and heading towards the keyboards.

"What was that about?" Dana asked, following Charlotte to the percussion section. Becky followed them as well.

"Don't worry about it."

After looking through drumsets for about 5 minutes, they were interrupted by the sound of Nia Jax's voice.

"The mock guitars are in a different section."

Charlotte, Dana, and Becky immediately turned around, as Nia laughed, and walked away.

"Okay, we gotta get The Boss out of here immediately before one of those ECM girls makes fun of her." Charlotte said, making her way to the keyboard section. Dana and Becky followed her. Once they realized Bayley and Sasha weren't there, they started looking in other sections. Eventually they found them in the guitar section.

"I like this one." Sasha smiled.

"Hey, Boss, we have to go." Charlotte said

"What, why?"

"Well, well, welll... if it isn't the Four Phonies." Alicia said, entering the aisle with Nia and Tamina.

"Plus one." Tamina added, mockingly.

"Look you little human Bratz dolls, go back to Manhattan. And when you get there, tell Kaitlyn that the Bronx is AJ Lee's territory." Sasha said, putting down the guitar and walking towards them.

"Just because your lips are surgically attached to AJ's ass doesn't mean ours have to be." Nia said, as Tamina and Alicia laughed.

"Why don't you find a store in YOUR borough?"

"Why don't you go pretend to be AJ Lee somewhere else?" Tamina asked.

"Pretend to be AJ Lee?" Sasha asked.

"We don't have time for them, let's go." Charlotte said.

"...oh my god! She doesn't know!" Alicia exclaimed.

The East Coast Movement girls all began laughing, as Dana, Becky, Bayley, and Charlotte sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Sasha asked, beginning to get annoyed.

"Go ahead, tell her what ya'll did." Tamina laughed, pointing behind Sasha.

Sasha slowly turned around to face the rest of her band members.

"What are they talking about?"

"We... we needed money for instruments..." Dana began.

"So we threw a party at my father's barbershop, and-"

Charlotte cut Becky off by stepping in front of her, facing Sasha.

"There was a CD of this AJ Lee guitar solo, so we wrote a song to it, and performed it, and pretended Bayley was playing guitar to it, and we got caught."

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND THE CD!?" Sasha yelled.

"Music store."

"We have to get that CD back to AJ and let her know before she finds out on her own, she'll be so pissed if we don't, we gotta go NOW, come on!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Boss... AJ already knows." Charlotte said, looking down.

Sasha stood, frozen.

"Why do you say that?"

"These two girls came in. One was really pale, and the other had blonde and pink hair, and they took the CD, and... and they said our partnership with AJ is dead." Charlotte said, finally gaining the courage to nervously look Sasha in the eyes.

Alicia smirked.

Sasha walked over to Dana, standing face to face with her.

"Explain something to me." Sasha demanded, staring a hole through her skull.

"Uh... okay." Dana said, nervously.

"You mean to tell me... while I've been working my ass off, to put clothes on my back, food in my mouth, and instruments in our hands, that THIS fucking idiot bought a mock guitar, and a stolen AJ Lee CD... so THIS fucking idiot could pretend to play it... in THIS fucking idiot's father's barbershop... and YOU just went along with the whole thing?"

"I... uh... yes?"

"Look, we can still-"

"WE can't do anything. There is no WE." Sasha said, cutting Charlotte off.

The East Coast Movement girls' jaws dropped, as they tried to contain their excitement.

"What do you mean?" Bayley asked.

"There is no Four Horsewomen Plus One. There's only 4 of you now." Sasha said, walking towards the front door of the store.

"Wait! Boss!" Charlotte shouted, running after her.

Becky, Bayley, and Dana awkwardly put down the instruments they were holding, walking out of the store as the East Coast Movement girls laughed at them. Once they got outside, they saw Sasha driving off, and Charlotte standing sadly on the sidewalk.

"She'll forgive us." Becky said.

Charlotte said nothing, slowly beginning to walk home.

"Charlotte..." Dana said, getting no response, or acknowledgement.

* * *

"Ambrose. Phone." The guard said.

"I don't have one." Dean said.

"I mean come with me to the phone, smart ass."

"Who is it?"

"Do you want the phone call or not?"

"Who is it?"

"It's your lawyer, now come on, asshole."

"Alright." Dean shrugged, leaving his cell, and following the guard to the phones.

Eventually Dean was sitting, on the phone, as the guard watched him.

"Dean, you're gonna be out of there really soon." Otunga said.

"How soon?"

"Next 5 days. Just play it cool, no solitary confinement, don't back talk the guards, don't get into a fight with another inmate. Just chill for about a week, and we'll get you home."

"What colors do the ankle bracelets come in? I like green."

Otunga sighed.

"Talk to you later, Dean."

"Peace." Dean said, hanging up.

The guard walked Dean back to his cell.

* * *

Sasha took a deep breath, before knocking on AJ's front door. After about 30 seconds, a heavily tattooed man opened it. Sasha recognized him as AJ's fiance.

"Hey Mr. Brooks, is AJ here?"

Before he could say anything, AJ came into the room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as her fiance left.

"I just heard about what happened last night, and I just wanted to let you know that I had nothing to do with that, I don't know why they thought they could-"

"Remember our second conversation?" AJ asked.

"Yes."

"I said, 'You're the real leader. Steer them in the right direction. Don't let them do anything stupid.', and what did you do?"

"But AJ, I-"

"You've failed me."

"...what?" Sasha asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"You heard me. You failed me."

"AJ please..."

"You can go now." AJ said, emotionlessly.

"Y... you're my idol, I'd never-"

"Bye."

"But I-"

"Leave."

"...AJ I'm gonna find each and every last one of those CDs, AND the person who stole them. I PROMISE you!" Sasha cried, unable to control the tears running down her face, or her tone of voice.

AJ said nothing, closing her front door.

Sasha sat down on AJ's porch, sobbing.

* * *

That night, Becky returned to the train station, to see Finn, and some other artists, admiring her flower.

"Hey guys, what's-"

Becky immediately stopped, looking down at the painting. It was now neon orange and green, with a sharper black outline distinguishing the pedals, and the familiar silver, glittery array of shiny dots all over it. The words "Life Is Fragile" were completely gone, covered with brown, representing the soil the flower was growing out of.

"Storm is amazing." Finn smiled.

Becky kept staring, confused about why Storm would paint over top of her painting.

"Yeah it's... I like it." Becky said, still trying to understand.

Eventually the artists dispersed, going to work on their own work, as Becky continued staring at the flower. After a while, she silently left, without painting anything.


	10. College Fund

Ric came downstairs, to see Charlotte in the living room.

"Good morning, Charlotte."

"Good morning."

"You look like you haven't slept." Ric said, eyeing her.

"I was applying to colleges last night."

Ric looked in shock.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Duke, Georgetown, Syracuse, UMass, UConn, and Maryland. I also have representatives from a few of the colleges coming to interview me. NC State tomorrow, Syracuse and Duke next week." Charlotte said, putting her legs on the couch and laying down.

"Wow, way to take the initiative. I'm proud of you."

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Ric sat down in the chair, near the couch.

"What's wrong with you?"

"...I just... the music thing didn't work out, and I wish I just listened to you in the first place."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No. I actually have to call someone." Charlotte said, pulling out her phone.

Ric got up, and sighed, leaving the room as Charlotte began dialing.

"Hello?... look, I'm gonna be 110% honest with you, I've been such a jerk to you for the past week because of this stupid band, and I'm sorry. I'm not in it anymore, and I'm under a lot of stress with this college stuff, and I'm really hungry, and I would love to go to lunch with you in a few hours... yeah... no, it's my fault... thank you...yeah that'd be great...really? Thanks, that's really nice of you... Okay see you then... bye."

* * *

Becky and Bayley looked around the barbershop.

"Anything else?" Becky asked.

"Nah, the glue on the arm of that chair has to sit untouched for another hour, though."

Just then, Sasha walked through the front door of the barbershop.

"Boss? What are you doing here?" Becky asked, almost excitedly.

"Where's Trust Fund?"

Bayley sighed, taking out her phone and pulling up Charlotte's long winded text from last night. She cleared her throat.

"'Everything is falling apart. I started the Horsewomen in hopes of following my dream, but the past week has showed me that it's just that, a dream. It can all be over at the drop of a dime, and there's a one in a million shot of almost anything going right. I thought following in my father's footsteps would make him proud, but all it's done is made him concerned for my safety and my future, and I've realized both had been jeopardized by all of this. What if we died at the party? What if we keep living off of money from gig to gig with no reliable source of income? A lot of good came out of this. Just 8 days ago, I wasn't friends with you, or your sister, and now, you're practically the most important people in my life. Even though I've decided to leave the band, you guys will always hold a special place in my heart, and if you ever need me, I'm only a phone call away.'" Bayley read.

"That didn't answer my question." Sasha said, emotionlessly.

"She's a phone call away." Bayley said.

Becky smirked a bit.

"You think this is a joke?" Sasha asked.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Didn't work."

Becky and Bayley awkwardly looked at each other in silence.

"Why do you want Charlotte?" Becky asked.

"She got me into this mess, she's getting me out of it."

"What mess?"

"AJ wants nothing to do with me. If I don't find the other CDs, she's gonna hate me forever. So Charlotte is coming with me."

"We'll come with you!" Becky exclaimed.

"What!?" Bayley yelled, glaring at Becky.

"Thanks but no thanks, you guys aren't street smart enough to go where I'm going."

Bayley looked at Sasha in confusion.

"And Charlotte is?"

"No, but she's the one who bought the CD without telling me."

"Telling you? How was she supposed to tell you? You bailed on us, we couldn't even find you!"

"I bailed on you guys were stupid enough to walk right into ECM's trap!" Sasha said, beginning to get angry.

"Well if you knew all along, why didn't you speak up? You have no problem speaking your mind any other time."

"Guys, relax." Becky said.

"I DID SPEAK UP! AND YOU ALL JUST SHRUGGED AT ME LIKE THE FUCKING IDIOTS YOU ARE! AND NOW EVERYTHING I OWN HAS BEEN FUCKING BURNED TO THE GROUND, AND I HAVE TO PIMP MYSELF OUT TO A CREEPY OLD MAN SO I WON'T BE FUCKING HOMELESS!"

Becky and Bayley looked at Sasha in shock and confusion.

"...Boss, I-"

"Do me a favor." Sasha said, cutting Becky off.

"What?"

"I'm gonna go find her, and get those CDs. You guys stay here, and clean this shit up."

Sasha immediately grabbed the chair and threw it into the wall.

"BOSS!" Bayley yelled, looking at the re-broken arm on the chair, and the dent in the wall.

Sasha kicked over a box of clippers, combs, and hairsprays, knocking them all over the ground.

"BOSS, STOP!"

Sasha walked out of the barbershop, as Becky and Bayley looked around sadly, knowing they would have to clean again.

* * *

Seth pulled out Charlotte's chair, and she sat down at their table. Seth sat across from her.

"So what schools are you looking at?"

"Well, I really want to go to NC State, but Maryland and Duke are both offering me volleyball scholarships, and Maryland is also offering a basketball scholarship. But the thing is, NC State hasn't sent any scholarships out yet, so I still might get one fro-"

Sasha knocked on the outside of the window next to their table.

Charlotte looked confused. Sasha made a "come here" motion, and Charlotte simply closed the blinds in front of the window.

"Like I was saying, I might still get an NC State scholarship."

"That's... that's great. What did she want?" Seth asked, pointing at the window.

"Don't know, don't care."

Seth simply nodded, as their waitress arrived.

"I'm Ember, I'll be your server, can I start you off with any drinks?"

"Uh... just a root beer." Seth said.

"I'll take a Sprite." Charlotte shrugged.

The waitress walked away as Sasha approached the table.

"Let's go." she said, snapping her fingers.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, you, come on."

"I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"No, you're kinda at the end of something, let's go."

"Hey, you can't just barge in on our lunch like that!" Seth said.

Sasha leaned in close to Seth, putting her head on his shoulder.

"If you don't end this date right now, I'll tell blondie how you're paying for this lunch." She whispered in his ear.

"What are you talking ab-"

Seth stopped, immediately realizing what she meant.

Charlotte looked confused.

"Go ahead, Charlotte." Seth sighed, sadly.

"What?"

"Go with her."

"No! I wanna stay here with you."

"Well, I... I gotta go." He said, getting up.

"Seth! Wait!" Charlotte called after him, as he walked out of the restaurant.

"Looks like you're not busy anymore." Sasha said.

"What the hell did you say to him!?"

"I told him you're coming with me to Manhattan to find these CDs."

"Look, I'm not a part of the Four Horsewomen anymore."

"Neither am I." Sasha said, scoffing.

"Then why do you care about the CDs?"

"Because AJ Lee hates me, thanks to you. So you're gonna fix it."

Charlotte sighed.

"...I guess that's fair."

"You're damn right it's fair, now come on!" Sasha said, leading her out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose, your son is being processed, and he'll be released on house arrest in a few days." Otunga said, into the phone.

He nodded.

"Yes, that's correct... Yes, officer Helmsley will be overseeing him... well... he's innocent until proven guilty, but the plea deals they're offering are pretty damn good, you might want to consider advising him to take one... no... I'm not saying he's guilty, I'm just saying why risk a trial when you can... yes... yes I understand Mrs. Ambrose... I... okay... alright... alright, talk to you later... bye."

* * *

Becky and Bayley sat on the train, counting the money the New Day members gave them.

"We don't have enough to get back home, but hopefully we'll run into The Boss." Becky shrugged.

"If she'll even take us home."

"Of course she will, she's not evil. She's just upset right now."

"How are we even supposed to find her?" Bayley asked.

"Obviously she's going for a reason, there must be something musical going on. We'll just ask around."

"We can't just wander around Manhattan."

"Why?" Becky asked, confused.

"We're from the BX."

"Who's gonna stop two teenage white girls on the street and ask what borough they're from?"

"East Coast Movement!"

"Oh... you're right."

"Plus, if there's a music thing going on, they're gonna be there."

"I couldn't help but overhear you girls talking about music in Manhattan." An older man said. He was short, bald, had glasses, and brown skin.

"Yeah, is there anything going on?" Becky asked.

"Trish Stratus is hosting this big event in Harlem. Something for young artists to perform. You girls artists?"

"Uh..." Bayley began.

"Semi-retired." Becky smiled.

"I'm fully retired. Teddy Long." he said, extending his hand. Becky shook it.

"Becky Lynch."

"Bayley Martinez."

"You girls look a little young to be retired."

"Yeah, well, it's a temporary arrangement. Our band kinda lost a couple key members, but we'll be fine." Becky said.

"Not without a singer and a lead guitarist." Bayley sighed.

"Well what do you girls do?" Teddy asked.

"I play keyboard, and my... my sister plays the drums."

Becky smiled at Bayley using the word 'sister'.

"You can play a lot of genres with a keyboard and some drums. I have a little club in Queens. Here's my card." He said, handing them each one.

* * *

"So why do you think the CDs are in Manhattan?" Charlotte asked.

Sasha rolled her eyes. Her hands were at "2" and "10" on the steering wheel.

"Because Kaitlyn has them."

"How do you know?"

"Because who else would want AJ's CDs!?" Sasha exclaimed, making a sharp turn.

"Anyone who wants a quick buck?"

Sasha drove into a parking garage, and up to the second level.

"Why pay for parking?" Charlotte asked.

"Can't just leave my 2017 Mustang anywhere, Jesus, did you leave your brain in the BX or something?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and got out of the car, following Sasha out of the parking garage and down the street.

"Where are we going?" Charlotte asked.

"Looking for any sign of Kaitlyn."

"What's a sign of Kaitlyn?"

"I don't fucking know, okay?"

"...then maybe this is a bad idea and we need to go home."

"Or maybe you need to follow me and shut up."

Charlotte sighed, silently continuing to follow Sasha.

They continued to walk for about 15 more minutes.

Charlotte slowly began to get uncomfortable with her surroundings.

"We're just going deeper and deeper into an area we're unfamiliar with."

"Path of greater resistance, blah, blah, blah, you never read that in one of your textbooks, College Fund?"

"College Fund?"

Sasha didn't say anything.

"Funny. Make fun of me for actually having a future, that's a real knee slapper." Charlotte said, unamused.

"Not everyone has the same opportunities as you."

"Your situation doesn't give you a right to be an irritable jerk to everyone."

"When you ever have to earn anything on your own, then talk to me."

"I worked my ass off to earn that money from the party!"

"And look where it got you." Sasha said, stopping. Charlotte stopped walking too, becoming even more angry.

Both girls said nothing.

Sasha smirked.

"Speechless, huh?

"No, I'm just trying to figure out how you juggle being Vince's bitch and AJ's bitch at the same time."

"I'm gonna fucking KILL YOU!" Sasha yelled, grabbing Charlotte by the collar of her shirt.

"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE!?" They heard Tamina yell.

Charlotte and Sasha turned to see the East Coast Movement girls walking towards them. Alicia was holding a bat. They looked at each other in shock, before running. ECM began chasing them.

"Hit this left." Sasha shouted.

Before Charlotte could process what Sasha said, she turned left, into traffic, narrowly avoiding getting it by a car. She kept going, making it to the sidewalk, then turned around to see Sasha right behind her, and ECM standing on the other side of the rode, as cars continued to fly down the busy street.

The two girls kept running off into the unfamiliar neighborhood.

Eventually they stopped, hearing loud music coming from a busy looking building.

"Wanna start here?" Charlotte asked.

"Shhhh." Sasha said.

"What?"

"Listen."

"...yeah, I'm getting the second one now."

Charlotte and Sasha turned, seeing a tan skinned girl with short blonde hair, walking towards the side of the building. The girls sneakily followed her as she continued to walk towards the back.

"Yeah, no idea where 3/4 and 4/4 are but I have a really reliable source meeting me at Trish's youth music event to give me the second one... Yeah, I'm going in now. Alright bye." She hung up, still unaware of Charlotte and Sasha following her into the back door of the building.

"My name is John Cena, I'm from Harlem."

The crowd erupted in applause, as the girls kept following the mysterious woman.

"And I'm doing a song for you tonight, called 'My Time Is Now'."

"Melina!" a taller, bald man called, as the beat dropped. The blonde haired girl walked over to him, as Charlotte and Sasha continued to follow.

" _In case you forgot, or fell off, I'm still hot, knock ya shell off. I money stack that, plus I can't turn the swell off."_

The girls couldn't hear Melina's conversation over the song. They watched as she handed the man an envelope. Sasha overheard the name "Gallows". The man handed Melina a CD case, and disappeared into the crowd.

"You think that's the one!?" Charlotte asked, over the music.

"Only one way to find out."

Sasha ran over to Melina, trying to grab the CD. She didn't get it, but she managed to knock it out of her hands. Melina and Sasha both dived for it on the ground, as the music stopped.

"Woah, woah, what is going on!?" Trish yelled, grabbing the mic.

"She's trying to steal my CD!"

"That's not your CD!" Sasha shouted back.

The two girls pulled it back and forth, before Melina snatched it from Sasha.

"Looks like it's MY CD after all." Melina said, waving it around.

Just then, Becky came from behind, grabbed it, and started running out of the building, with Bayley running after her.

Charlotte and Sasha looked at each other in shock, before following them. Melina ran after all four girls.

"HEY! I NEED THAT!"

"YEAH, SO DO WE!" Sasha yelled, running to the front of the group, and leading them back to the parking garage.

Eventually, Melina ran out of breath, and stopped chasing them.

* * *

"¿¡QUE DEMONIOS!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SOME GIRLS TOOK IT'!?" Del Rio yelled into the phone.

"I... they... I don't know... there was 2 of them, and then 2 more appeared, and they just took it and took off, I-"

"YOUR JOB WAS TO SHOW UP TO THE SHOW, HAND THE MAN AN ENVELOPE, TAKE THE CD, AND COME BACK HERE. HOW FUCKING HARD IS THAT!?"

"Alberto, I-"

Del Rio hung up on her.

"Hunico, ¿cuándo fue la última vez que habló con Dean?"

"No hace mucho tiempo. Dijo que todo va de acuerdo al plan. Mencionó a algunos tipos llamados... En realidad, no recuerdo sus nombres. Creo que uno de ellos era Roman o algo."

"Mandé a Melina a buscar el segundo CD de AJ Lee y alguien se lo robó."

Hunico gasped.

"What the fuck?"

"Hay tres CDs más por ahí. There's three more CDs out there."

"Deberíamos ir a buscar a quien robó el segundo de Melina." Hunico said, standing up.

"No... whichever perro stole the CD from Melina is looking to complete the collection as well. We don't have to look for them. THEY, have to look for us." Del Rio said, holding up a CD that had 'AJ Lee 1/4' written on it in black sharpie.

* * *

Charlotte took the CD out of the case. The words 'AJ Lee 2/4' were written on it. She put it in the CD player of Sasha's car.

"I'M the one who grabbed the CD, why does Charlotte get to sit up front?" Becky complained, from the backseat.

"I need the leg room."

"The way you ran in and grabbed that CD was pretty badass though... or should I say Badlass?" Sasha said, not even looking at Becky.

Becky's eyes got huge.

"Oh! I get it. Cause you're from Ireland." Bayley said, laugh.

"Haha, yeah... good one, Boss." Becky said, nervously.

"So what now?" Charlotte asked.

Sasha lowered her eyebrows.

"What do you mean 'what now'?"

"We got the CD, right?"

"There's still 2 more CDs left. We gotta find those, then you can go on to your successful life with your emo looking boyfriend and your wack ass college classes, and I'll continue to chase my dream instead of pussying out on it like you did."

"So you're back in the Horsewomen now!?" Becky asked, excitedly.

"My dream is not to be in a local cover band, my dream is to be AJ Lee's protegee. I can do that with or without a band, and honestly, I prefer the latter."

They girls rode quietly, listening to AJ's solo, all the way back to The Bronx. Sasha pulled in front of Charlotte's house.

"Bye Becky, bye Bayley." Charlotte said, getting out of the car.

Sasha drove off.

Both Bayley and Becky wanted to say something about the tension between Charlotte and Sasha, but neither spoke up. Sasha stopped outside of Becky and Bayley's house.

"Thank you guys for showing up, I really appreciate it." Sasha said, still not looking back at them.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Bayley laughed, getting out of the car. Becky stayed seated as Bayley closed the car door.

"What do you know about Badlass?"

"I went to the train station last night for the first time in like 8 months. Caught up with some people. Looked at some cool stuff. You must be really special to work with Storm on something. I don't think anyone has even met Storm except Finn and Dustin."

"I... I didn't work with Storm, and I'm not 100% sure I met her to be honest, it's a long story actually-"

"Becky, are you coming?" Bayley asked, opening her door.

"Yeah. See ya boss."

"Later, Carrot Top." Sasha said, as Becky exited the car.


	11. Power

Sasha knocked on AJ's front door.

She got no response.

"AJ!" She yelled, knocking again.

Sasha waited about 30 seconds before knocking again.

"AJ!"

AJ opened the door and sighed.

"Why are you on my porch?"

Sasha simply handed AJ the CD.

AJ's eyes got huge as she took it, staring at it.

"There's 2 more where that one came from." Sasha said, turning around and beginning to walk down the porch steps.

"Wait!" AJ called out.

Sasha stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah?

"Come in."

Sasha cracked a bit of a smile, as she turned around and followed AJ into the house.

They both sat down on the couch.

"Where'd you find it?"

"I went to Trish Stratus's event in Harlem, and some woman bought it off of a bald, tall dude. I think she called him 'Gallows'."

"Oh boy." AJ said, sighing through clenched lips.

"What?"

"Bald?"

"Yeah."

"Goatee?"

"Yeah!"

"Luke Gallows. One of Phil's old friends. Phil was kinda going through a phase where he was helping recovering addicts, and Luke was one of the people he helped."

"Well, he sold it to some woman, and we took it from her." Sasha smiled, proudly.

"How'd you know it was in Harlem?"

"I suspected Kaitlyn, so I went to her borough, but her little goons chased us right into the CDs."

"Goons?"

"East Coast Movement."

"Really? They seem so nice."

"They're not. They burned our instruments, and they tried to beat me with a bat yesterday just because I was in Manhattan."

"Wow... Kaitlyn really has 'em protecting the territory. We'll worry about them once we get these CDs... I'm sorry I doubted you, I-"

"It's not your fault. It's fine. How will we handle them, exactly?" Sasha asked, cutting AJ off.

"I've got a big plan. Don't worry about it right now, leave that to me. I gotta call Nattie and Paige and tell them what you just told me."

Sasha nodded, as AJ left the room.

* * *

"Talk to me." Dean said, into the phone.

"Yo, we lost the backpack." Roman said.

"YOU WHAT!?"

"Kidding! Kidding, relax!"

"I'm gonna fucking kill you when I get out tomorrow."

"No you won't, all we gotta do is stay away from your house." Roman laughed.

"We're looking pretty, I say we meet with Del Rio in like... two or three days maybe?" Seth said in the background.

Dean heard footsteps and immediately hung up, tossing the phone to his cellmate.

A guard approached his cell.

"Looks like Christmas came early for you, Ambrose."

"What are you talking about?"

"Processing error, you're out today." The guard said, opening the cell.

Dean followed him out, a bit confused.

After getting processed and receiving his cell phone, and clothes from the night of the party, he was met outside by a man in a suit, with broad shoulders, and a short haircut.

"Dean Ambrose?" the man asked.

"Who's asking?"

"Officer Helmsley. Your parole officer."

"Great."

"Your trial is in-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you gonna give me the ankle bracelet or what?"

Officer Helmsley stared him down for a bit.

"Get in the car."

Officer Helmsley drove out of the jail parking lot, and onto the highway, with Dean in the passenger seat.

"So Helmsley, you got a first name?"

The officer rolled his eyes.

"Hunter."

They stopped at a red light.

"Aye listen Hunter, I'm gonna make your job nice and simple. I'm gonna chill out, wait a few months for this trial bullshit, then I'm gonna-"

"If you snitch on Del Rio now, this'll go a lot smoother for both of us."

Dean tried to hide his shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"They know you're running for Del Rio, they just don't have any proof yet. You give them the proof they need to indict him, and the 10-15 years of prison you're looking at turns into 2. 1 with good behavior."

"I'm innocent, I don't know what you're talking about."

"This is not a game, Dean."

"This IS a game, and you can't play it better than me."

"I AM the game." Helmsley said, staring him down.

Dean smirked.

"The light's green, Hunter."

Helmsley looked at him for a little while longer before turning his attention back to the road.

* * *

"Queens!? Why are you on the way to Queens!? Trust Fund is doing a stupid college interview, I need you guys!" Sasha exclaimed into the phone.

"We met this-" Becky was cut off, as the phone made a weird noise.

"We're doing something important, we'll help you tomorrow." Bayley said, hanging up.

Sasha sighed, putting her phone in her pocket, and parking outside of Vince's house.

She debated on calling Dana for a little while, before deciding against it. She got out of the car, and entered the house with her key.

"Sasha! Just in time!"

"Great!" Sasha said, with fake enthusiasm, realizing she hadn't done any "favors" for Vince in 2 days.

* * *

There was a knock at the Flair household's front door. Charlotte ran to open it.

"Hey, I'm Daniel Bryan with North Carolina State University, I'm looking for a Charlotte Flair?"

"You found one!" Charlotte smiled, letting him in.

"Your athletic profile is really impressive, and you meet the academic scholarship requirements, I'm just going to ask you a few questions to learn more about why you want to go to NC State."

"Sounds great."

* * *

Bayley and Becky walked down the sidewalk in downtown Queens.

"Why couldn't we tell The Boss or Charlotte?" Becky asked.

"Because this has nothing to do with them." Bayley said, looking down at the card she received on the train yesterday and opening a door.

The girls walked in, seeing a man in the corner playing saxophone.

Teddy stood behind the bar.

"Welcome to Club Caesura."

"I like it." Becky smiled.

"The hottest Jazz club in the 5 boroughs of NYC."

"Wait what?" Bayley asked.

"That's right. Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, you won't find a more popular place for Jazz than here."

"We don't really... we've... we've never played any Jazz before." Becky admitted.

"Neither did Dizzy Gillespie before he started." Teddy said, with a laugh.

"Who?" Bayley asked.

"You see... Jazz music has a certain power to it."

Bayley looked even more confused.

"Power?"

"Quincy Jones once said that Jazz has the power to make men forget their differences and come together."

* * *

"Power is an interesting concept, is it not?" Vince asked.

Sasha simply nodded, laying naked, under the covers.

"I mean... this agreement between us for example. One might view it as, me, using my power over you to get what I want... or is it really vice-versa?"

"Well, yeah, I... I get pretty much whatever I want, and a place to stay."

"See? Power is a tricky thing. I was reading a book on it the other day. Forgot the title. Just got me thinking."

* * *

"I get it, you're young, you want money and power, but I'm telling you, Del Rio is the one with the power over you. He's a king, you're a pawn." Helmsley said, applying Dean's ankle bracelet in his office.

"With all due respect, Hunter... I don't know who Del Rio is or what you're talking about." Dean said, putting a piece of chewing gum in his mouth.

"I'm trying to save your life and you're bullshitting me."

"I don't need your little fake 'good cop' act, I'm not admitting to something I didn't fucking do. I don't know who the fuck Del Rio is and I don't know why I'm even involved in this bullshit. They searched my house, and found nothing. There's zero evidence against me. You're not scaring me into taking a plea deal when I can win this trial."

"I'm not acting, you're the one acting like you're innocent."

"I don't have to be innocent, I just have to be not guilty." Dean said, with a smirk.

Helmsley sighed, turning it on.

* * *

"Define power, in your own words." Daniel said.

Charlotte thought for a second, caught off-guard by the question.

"Um... uh... I guess I'd define power as the abilities and capabilities to do something. Like... you have the power to determine whether or not I get a scholarship from this interview, as do I, depending on my answers, and... I'm sorry, that was a dumb answer."

"I liked it." Daniel shrugged, writing on his clipboard.

* * *

"It's that power that willed the Civil Rights movement. You girls ever heard of the Harlem Renaissance?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah, in the 30s, with the black artists and musicians and poets." Becky replied, nodding.

"To have jazz is to have the power of being part of something bigger than yourself. It doesn't matter if you're ready for jazz, it's ready for you. It's a shame you guys don't have a guitar player."

"Actually, we-"

"Actually, we don't need one, it's kind of our thing, ya know. Sisterly dynamic duo." Bayley said, cutting off Becky.

"You guys got a name?"

"Not exact-"

"B&B Music Factory." Bayley smiled.

Becky looked confused, and slightly annoyed at being cut off by Bayley again.

"Oh, like C&C Music Factory, I like that, modern twist on the old. You girls feel free to come down here and play something. If I like it, we'll talk about making you paid regulars here."

"Great!" Bayley said.

The girls both shook hands with Teddy and left.

"B&B Music Factory!? What about The Horsewomen!?" Becky asked, as they walked back towards the train.

"What Horsewomen, Becky!? Charlotte quit! The Boss quit! Have you seen Dana lately!? Cause I haven't! The Horsewomen are over. It's dead. We have to move on."

Becky simply frowned a bit, continuing to walk.

"We don't need them. The only reason the band even existed was because of Charlotte's daddy issues and The Boss's obsession with AJ, they didn't care about us in the first place." Bayley said.

"If it weren't for the Horsewomen, you would still hate me right now."

Bayley sighed, as they got onto the train.

"If it weren't for Charlotte, we wouldn't be doing music at all."

"Becky..."

"If it weren't for The Boss, we wouldn't have gotten on this train and met Teddy."

"Okay, yes. Some good came out of the band, but that doesn't change the fact that literally everyone else in the band was looking out for themselves except us."

"Dana was cool."

"Dana knew 4 chords!"

"I just think that the band is going through a rough patch right now, and it's kinda disrespectful to just branch out and do our own thing without telling them."

"And I just think that sitting around and waiting on people who ditched US in the first place to come back is a waste of time." Bayley said, rolling her eyes.

"Agree to disagree."

* * *

"I love you, Sasha."

Sasha said nothing, wishing she didn't hear it. As much as she hated it, she was used to pretty much everything living with Vince entailed at this point, but for some reason, the thought of a real relationship with Vince deeply disturbed her. She wasn't sure if Vince expected her to say it back or not.

"Did you hear me?" Vince asked, softly.

"Hmm?" Sasha replied.

"I said, I love you, Sasha."

"Oh... uh..."

The room fell silent, as Sasha cringed at the awkwardness.

"I love you too." She said, with a weak smile.

He grabbed her head and kissed her on the lips, as she gritted her teeth, pretending she enjoyed it.

* * *

Officer Helmsley and Dean entered the Ambrose household. His mother immediately hugged him.

"His trial is pending, they're aiming for a few months from now. He has his schedule of when he's supposed to meet with me. He can only be out of the house between 7 AM and 7 PM. If you get a little eager and run outside of this door at 6:59 AM, or you're coming home late, and you're not in the door by 7:01 PM, you're in trouble."

"You think I'm gonna be awake before 7 AM?" Dean laughed.

Helmsley simply glared at him, before opening the door to leave.

"Peace, Hunter."

* * *

"Okay, one final question-"

"CHARLOTTE! CHARLOTTE I FOUND IT I FOUND ONE OF THE CDs!" Dana yelled, running through the unlocked front door.

"DANA! I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING! I am so sorry, Mr. Bryan. Dana can you please get out of here?"

"BUT THE CD!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"You don't care?" Dana asked confused.

"No! I don't care about AJ Lee and I don't care about those stupid CDs! Go give it to The Boss or something, this is kinda important!" Charlotte said, pointing at Daniel's clipboard.

"Wait... what is this?"

Charlotte sighed.

"Hi, I'm Daniel Bryan, I work in the Freshman Advisory Department at North Carolina State University, I was getting to know Charlotte a bit since the school is considering giving her an athletic scholarship."

"...I am so sorry, I'll just leave this here and-"

"Are you a good friend of Charlotte's?" Daniel asked.

"Y-yes."

"Describe Charlotte in one word."

Dana briefly looked up at Charlotte, who gave her a look that read "please don't screw this up".

"Ambitious."

Daniel nodded, as Charlotte sighed in relief.

"If Charlotte wants something, she goes out and gets it. Any goal she has, she achieves it, because she isn't afraid to step outside her comfort zone, or work extra hard for something."

"Thank you." Daniel said, as Charlotte smiled.

Dana put the CD down on the counter and left.

* * *

A few hours after midnight, Becky returned to the train station. No one was there, except the mysterious girl, who was spray painting something onto a blank space of the wall.

"Hey." Becky said.

The girl turned around, nodded at Becky, and turned back around.

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're Storm."

"You know what happens when you assume." The girl said, not even looking back.

"Why did you paint over top of my flower?"

"My name is Naomi."

"...but you're also Storm, you're using neon paint right now, I'm not stupid."

"Who told you I was 'Storm'? Have I ever introduced myself as 'Storm'? Have I ever answered to 'Storm'? My name is Naomi."

"So you're not Storm?"

"If I start calling you 'Tyler', does that make you 'Tyler'?" Naomi asked.

"...so you don't like being called Storm?" Becky responded, confused.

"I don't care what people call me. I just don't define myself on what other people say. It don't matter what people call me. I'm Naomi."

Becky began to get annoyed.

"That's not the point. The point is you painted over my picture."

"I don't like the way you paint." Naomi shrugged, turning to face her.

"What's wrong with the way I paint?"

"You get sad, come here, paint some sad shit, other sad people come, and they say 'hey, that's a good painting, I'm sad too', then they paint more sad shit. I get sad, come here, paint something lit and happy, sad people come and say "hey, that's lit", and they feel a little better. Maybe they don't paint their sad ass painting, and paint something happier instead. Then it's a chain reaction."

"I just paint what I feel." Becky shrugged.

"I paint how I WANT people to feel. You're a good artist. You got talent. Use it to help people around you, don't just mope around painting dead flowers and shit."

"What if my sad stuff makes other people feel better in knowing that they're not alone in being sad?"

"I'd rather someone cheer me up instead of just going 'it's okay, I'm sad too'... sorry for messing with your art, I just can't stand sadness."

"It's cool." Becky said, looking down at the flower.

"There's a party a few nights from now. A couple of artists are going. You wanna go?...with me?"

"Uh... sure. What kind of party?"

"Just... a party. It's 3. I gotta go."

"See you around."

"I doubt it." Naomi said, leaving.

Becky chuckled, nodding.


	12. Artistic Fire

Dean, Roman, and Seth sat in Roman's bedroom, counting their profits.

"Pretty damn good, fellas, pretty damn good." Dean smiled.

"Save your ass good?" Seth asked.

"$50 short of it."

"That can be done by the end of the day." Roman shrugged.

"I'll take it from here."

"Dude, you can't caught with anything. Let us handle this, THEN we'll take all the money and call it even." Roman said.

"ALL THE MONEY!?"

"Seth, what do you think?"

"All of the money is a little ridiculous, Roman." Seth shrugged.

"Let's give him $100."

"You're not in this conversation anymore, this between me and Seth." Dean laughed.

"35-35-30 split." Seth said.

"...who the fuck's getting 30 percent?" Dean asked.

Roman and Seth both pointed at him.

"Why do I get less!?"

"Cause we saved your life, and we did this against our will."

"Fine. Deal."

* * *

Paige, Sasha, and Natalya were sitting in AJ's office, as she explained her plan.

"So it's basically like a battle of the bands? BX vs Manhattan?" Paige asked.

"Exactly. 5 match-ups. Hip-Hop, Country, R&B, Pop, then an open-genre battle of the bands."

"Battle of the bands?" Sasha asked.

"Yep. The Horsewomen vs The East Coast Movement. I just need to find Bronx artists to fulfill the other categories and-"

"Like... the Four Horsewomen?"

"...yeah... your band?"

"...right...my band." Sasha said, nervously.

"What happened?" AJ asked, noticing Sasha's tone.

"There kinda isn't a band right now."

AJ looked confused.

"...well I kinda need one for this event, what happened?"

"...I can get the keyboardist and guitarist back... probably even the girl on bass guitar, but I don't know about the lead singer." Sasha said.

AJ looked at Sasha for a bit.

"I'm gonna trust you on this one. Work on that and get back to me. Before I propose the idea to Kaitlyn, I'll need a bit of a roster. Do you guys know any young singers or rappers?"

Natalya and Paige shrugged.

"I have a couple options in my head, I'll get back to you on that too." Sasha said.

"I'll look into some venues." Paige said, pulling out her phone.

* * *

Charlotte sat, typing away on her laptop computer, as Dana walked in through her front door.

"You don't knock anymore, I see." Charlotte said.

"I stopped knocking like a year ago. College essay?" Dana asked, pointing at the laptop.

"Song lyrics."

"...I thought you were done with music?"

"I AM done. There's an optional writing piece with the NC State application where you can write a poem or song instead of an essay, I'm doing a song because it's easier."

"Right. Anyway, have you seen The Boss?"

"I try not to."

Dana sighed.

"Well, don't forget to give her the CD."

"I'm not going out of my way to look for her, if we cross paths I'll tell her and if we don't, we don't."

"Well I really need to talk to her."

Charlotte simply nodded, continuing to type as Dana left.

Ric came downstairs, wearing his Duke University T-Shirt.

"Hey, Charlotte!"

"Hey, Dad."

"What day did you say Duke was coming?"

"Uh, Tuesday I think. Why?"

"It's just an important interview, you know? Prestigious school, family tradition."

Charlotte looked a little annoyed.

"I guess. It's not my school of choice but-"

"And I feel like you'd fit in best at Duke anyway. Plus you'd have way better athletic opportunities." Ric said.

"Dad, I understand that, but I want to go to NC State."

"Just think about it."

"There's nothing to think about."

"There's a lot to think about."

Charlotte gritted her teeth.

"No, there's not."

"There's nothing wrong with Duke. David went to Duke." Ric shrugged.

"I'm not David." Charlotte muttered, fully annoyed at this point.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Dad." She said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Dean, Seth, and Roman sat, slowly moving through the McDonald's drive-thru.

"I gotta meet with Helmsley three times a week."

"Is he cool?" Roman asked.

"He knows about Del Rio."

"WHAT!?" Seth exclaimed.

"He keeps telling me to snitch to get a lighter sentence. I'm not stupid. I snitch, go to jail for a year and a half, get out, then Hunico chops my head off."

Roman looked confused.

"What if you don't snitch?"

"I either get 10-15 years or I win my case and don't get shit."

"Dude, why would you take that risk?" Seth asked.

"If they had enough dirt on me to lock me for 15 years they wouldn't offer me a plea deal for 2."

"Or maybe they'd rather take down the source instead of a runner that no one gives a shit about! Think about it! You go to jail for 15 years, Del Rio finds another you, and nothing changes. If they take down Del Rio, that could be HUGE for them!"

"He's got a good point." Roman shrugged.

"Or, David D. Otunga can do his fucking job, and beat my case, and I'll be free to go."

"Just because you have a great lawyer doesn't mean you'll win, you're not innocent!"

"If OJ could beat his case, I can beat mine." Dean said, as they pulled up to the pay window.

Roman and Seth shook their heads, worried about Dean's thought process.

* * *

Sasha, Becky, and Bayley sat in the Martinez-Lynch Family living room.

"Hey guys, I need a huge favor." Sasha said.

"We're listening." Becky replied.

"I... you know what... forget all that stuff I said about not needing the band. I think we should come back together, and kick East Coast Movement's ass at AJ's event."

"Oh. Wow. Now that having a band is convenient, all of a sudden you need us again." Bayley said, rolling her eyes and standing up.

"What?"

"Bayley, just sit down and relax." Becky said.

"Nope, I'm not interested in starring in 'Help The Boss Kiss Up To AJ' episode 300, I'm good." Bayley said, going upstairs.

"What's her problem?" Sasha asked.

Becky sighed.

"She thinks you and Charlotte only use the band for your own benefit."

"I'd rather not be grouped in with her."

"Why are you two fighting again?"

Sasha said, nothing, walking towards the staircase.

"I'LL PAY YOU!" Sasha shouted.

Bayley slowly began coming back down the stairs.

"When is this event?" Bayley asked.

"It isn't scheduled yet, it's a big music battle. AJ needs young Bronx artists. She needs a pop singer, a country singer, an R&B singer, and a rapper."

"I know a rapper!" Becky smiled.

Bayley looked skeptical.

"Wait, wait, Boss, before we find other singers, shouldn't we work on getting our's back?"

"That's another thing I need your help with." Sasha frowned.

"I'm sure if you just apologize, she'll-"

"ME!? Apologize to HER!? Are you crazy!?"

"You were kinda a jerk to her." Becky shrugged.

"I'm not apologizing to that spoiled brat." Sasha said, crossing her arms.

Becky and Bayley both sighed.

"We'll talk to her and see what we can do." Becky said.

Bayley looked annoyed.

"YOU'LL talk to her and see what YOU can do, I'm not playing guidance counselor to two 18-year olds." Bayley said.

Becky sighed again.

"Fine. Take me to Charlotte's house and I'll go in." She said.

Becky and Sasha left, as Bayley went upstairs.

* * *

Becky took a deep breath and knocked on Charlotte's door, as Sasha waited in the car.

Charlotte opened the door and looked a bit confused.

"Becky?"

"Hey."

"Hey, come in." Charlotte said.

Becky and Charlotte walked into the house, and Charlotte noticed Sasha's car, before closing the door.

"What's going on?"

"Well... we kinda need you."

"Who is we?"

"...the band."

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Why?"

"AJ is throwing an event, and she wants us to have a battle of the bands against East Coast Movement."

"As much as I hate East Coast Movement, I politely decline."

"Charlotte!"

"I already told you why I don't want to be in the band anymore."

"But this is our opportunity to come together and prove to them that no matter how they try to set us back that they'll never be better than us!"

"Sounds great and all, but I'm not interested. Tell The Boss that Dana brought me this." Charlotte said, handing Becky the CD.

"You said you'd always be a phone call away..."

"Yeah, for you and Bayley. Not her."

Becky sighed.

"What if she apologized?"

"That would be surprising because that would require her to, A, finally admit a wrong doing, and B, put her pride and ego aside for two fucking seconds."

"But what if she did? Would you consider coming back for one performance only?"

"...I'd think about it."

Becky nodded.

"Well, I'll see ya."

"Bye. Stay safe." Charlotte said, re-opening her laptop.

* * *

Becky walked back to the car.

"What'd she say?" Sasha asked.

"She said no, but if you apologized, she'd consider it."

"Looks like we need a new singer."

"We're not replacing Charlotte!"

"Well I'm not fucking saying sorry after the shit she said to me and everything she's caused!" Sasha said, putting the car in drive, and pulling off.

"Look, I know a lot has happened between you two, and I personally think you both should apologize to each other."

"Fuck that."

Becky sighed.

"Dana found this." Becky said handing her the CD.

"WHAT!? WHERE!?" Sasha screamed, grabbing it.

"Charlotte didn't say."

"Well we have to find Dana!"

"We can ask Charlotte where to find Dana." Becky shrugged.

"You can." Sasha said, parking her car.

"Okay, enough of this! If you and Charlotte aren't going to put forth any effort to make amends, this isn't going to work!"

Sasha said nothing, crossing her arms.

Becky rolled her eyes and got out of the car.

She walked into the house, where Bayley was sitting on the couch.

"What happened?" Bayley asked.

"You'd know if you came."

"Well what happened?"

"Dana found a CD, and Charlotte and The Boss are still fighting." Becky said, sitting down next to her.

"Dana found a CD?...OH! Where!?"

"I don't know, I'll get her number from Charlotte and give it to The Boss I guess because they can't just talk to each other like adults."

"That's why I didn't go... hey, do wanna go to Cesura tomorrow!?"

"And play what?" Becky asked.

"...hey, do you wanna learn a song tomorrow!?"

Becky chuckled.

"Sure."

* * *

Sasha opened the front door of Vince's house with her key, and a strong smell of scented candles hit her immediately. She looked down at the ground and saw a trail of rose pedals, leading to the bedroom door.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes in frustration, before she closed the door and reluctantly followed the trail.

* * *

Finn approached Naomi, who was busy spray painting with several different shades of orange.

"Whatcha working on?" he asked.

"It's a portrait."

Finn noticed there was a small head and face already finished, and the orange paint was used for long flowing hair.

"What does it represent?"

"The face is cute, and shy, and represents the way most of us look to the world. Scared, shy, quiet little people who are usually in the background, and don't really express themselves, and the hair represents our ideas and art, and our freedom. It's orange because it's like an artistic fire within all of us."

"Looks like Badlass."

Naomi scoffed.

"Seriously, it looks just like her."

"Kinda, I guess." She shrugged.

"No, that's definitely Badlass."

"I can see how you'd think that, but it isn't."

"It's okay, we all use beautiful things that we're enamored with as muses." Finn said, with a teasing smile.

"I'm not 'enamored' with her, this isn't even a portrait of her."

Finn simply nodded and chuckled, before working on his own picture.

"What?" Naomi asked.

"Nothing." Finn said, smiling even wider.

"If you have something to say, say it, demon boy."

"It's just... you said the face was cute."

"Yeah?"

"So you're saying Badlass is cute?"

"...shut up."

Finn laughed again, reaching in his backpack for more paint.


	13. Do It Again

"Wait, wait, calm down, slow down, and start from the beginning of the story." Sasha said.

Dana took a deep breath, sitting down on her couch.

"So I was at my aunt's house…"

"Who is your aunt?"

"Aunt Serena, uh… she has a shaved head, she used to be an alcoholic-"

"Used to be an alcoholic… interesting, continue." Sasha said, pulling her phone out.

"Well, the CD was just at her house, I asked about it and she changed the subject, so I-"

"What did you say and what did she say?"

"I said 'hey, where'd you find this CD?' and she said 'don't worry about it' and started talking about something else, so before we left, I grabbed it."

"The person who had the other CD was a former drug addict that AJ's fiancé helped, that has a shaved head. Your aunt is a former alcoholic with a shaved head…"

"What are you saying?" Dana asked, confused.

"I'm saying maybe the root of the theft is closer to AJ than she thinks."

* * *

Seth and Charlotte sat in the Rollins family living room.

"So how's Dean?"

"Uh… good, he's fine."

"That's good. What are they accusing him of?"

"I think they suspect he's selling drugs." Seth said, scratching his neck.

"That doesn't make sense, they wouldn't just accuse him of that. They must've saw him buying them or something."

"Yeah, I don't know about Dean sometimes. How's the band going?"

"They want me back to do this dumb battle of the bands thing."

"Are you gonna do it?"

"Maybe… I don't want to at all, but Bayley and Becky really want me to… I don't know."

"Becky is the girl's name?"

"Yeah, the orange-haired girl."

"No, I mean the purple-pinkish haired girl."

"I don't know her name. We're not friends."

Seth looked a bit confused, but nodded.

Just then, Roman and Dean walked into the door, with the backpack.

"We're ready to meet Del Ri-Charlotte's here, hey, Charlotte." Dean said, a bit startled by her presence.

Before Charlotte could respond, Seth cut her off.

"I'll be right back, we need to go somewhere."

"I'll go with." Charlotte said.

"You can't." Roman, Seth, and Dean said, in unison.

"Oh… okay cool, I'll wait here I guess."

Charlotte awkwardly changed the channel on the television as Seth followed Dean and Roman out of the house.

* * *

Becky and Bayley walked into Club Caesura.

"We're ready." Becky smiled.

Teddy looked confused.

"It's been less than 48 hours."

"Yeah, we learned a song, there's other parts to it, but there's only two of us, so-"

"What song?"

"Strange Fruit." Becky said, as Bayley stood behind the grand keyboard.

"Classic. Interesting. Not much drums on that one." Teddy said.

"Yeah, Kanye West has a song called 'Blood On The Leaves' that heavily samples Nina Simone's rendition of 'Strange Fruit", so I used drum patterns from that song and added them to our rendition of it." Becky smiled, proudly.

Teddy smiled too.

"Creative, I like it. Hey! Montel. You know Strange Fruit right?" Teddy asked.

Becky and Bayley noticed the man in the corner of the room, holding a trumpet, who nodded.

"You guys need a singer?"

"Eh... I was gonna sing it, but it'd be a lot easier to just focus on playing drums." Becky admitted.

"Cameron, you wanted to perform right? Here's your chance." Teddy said, to a girl cleaning one of the tables.

"Really!?" Cameron asked, excitedly.

"You know Strange Fruit?" Bayley asked with a bit of a smirk, amused at Cameron's excitement.

"Yes."

"The stage is yours." Teddy smiled.

* * *

Roman and Seth sat in the car, waiting for Dean to return.

"What if something goes wrong and they kill him?" Seth said.

Roman sighed.

"You watch too many movies, bro."

"It happens in real life too."

Just then, Dean walked out of the house, with a navy blue backpack.

"Alright, perfect." Dean said, entering the car.

"What's that?" Seth asked, pointing at the backpack.

"More shit. We have some time on our hands to move it though."

"DEAN, WHAT THE FUCK!?" Seth and Roman exclaimed in unison, as Dean looked confused.

"What?"

"THIS WHOLE THING WAS TO GET YOU OUT OF THIS!" Seth exclaimed.

"Get me out of this? You think I can just sell for him, then walk away knowing all his secrets and locations?"

"So you're just gonna sell for the rest of your life?" Roman asked.

"Until he goes back to Mexico."

"Well I'm out, you're on your own with this one." Seth said, starting the car.

"Okay, that's fine... oh, here's your thirty-five hundred dollars by the way." Dean said casually, reaching into the backpack as Roman's eyes got huge.

Seth sighed.

"i'm driving." Seth said.

"Oh, yeah, right. Here you go, Roman."

"WAIT, YOU SAID WE ONLY GET ONE FOURTH OF THE MONEY!" Roman yelled.

"We did."

"YOU SOLD $40,000 WORTH OF DRUGS!? WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Yeah. We each get $5,000 now that Seth's out."

Seth gritted his teeth, realizing Dean was trying to make him regret his decision.

* * *

Seth entered his house, to see Charlotte, still on the couch.

"Where'd you guys go?"

"Oh, uh... Dean had to clear some stuff with his P.O."

"What's a P.O.?"

Seth chuckled a bit, at Charlotte's innocence.

"Parole officer."

"Oh."

"He could only bring 2 guests."

"Oh, okay... I was just about to ask something."

"Uh, go ahead."

"So... remember in the car after the performance..."

"Oh, boy." Seth said, sitting down, as Charlotte chuckled.

"Did you say that it was Roman's idea?"

"Y...yeah, I'm sorry, it was st-"

"Do it again."

"...what?"

"Do it again. I think I have something on my lips." Charlotte smiled.

Seth chuckled a bit, before kissing her.

* * *

Becky and Bayley sat on the train on the way home, still excited from the performance.

"That went so perfectly!" Becky exclaimed, grabbing her phone.

"That was the most fun I've ever had! And Cameron is really good!" Bayley added.

"I just got a text from The Boss saying 'emergency band meeting tomorrow at AJ's house, bring Trust Fund'."

Bayley sighed.

"Great." She said, sarcastically.

* * *

Charlotte walked into the house to see Ric, sitting in the living room, holding four letters.

"Hey, Dad."

"Some college letters came in. Kentucky, Texas A&M, Georgetown." Ric said, handing Charlotte her mail.

"That's grea-OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!"

"What?"

"NC STATE! THERE'S A LETTER FROM NC STATE!"

"Oh... yeah, them too." Ric shrugged.

Charlotte took a deep breath.

"I'll open Texas A&M first."

Charlotte slowly opened it, and smiled.

"Accepted, basketball and volleyball scholarships. Let's check Georgetown."

Charlotte opened it and smirked.

"Accepted, basketball scholarship. Okay, Kentucky."

Charlotte opened that letter and smiled as well.

"Accepted, basketball scholarship. Moment of truth."

Charlotte opened the NC State letter.

"ACCEPTED! BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL SCHOLARSHIPS!" Charlotte yelled, jumping up and down.

"That's nice, Charlotte. Duke is still coming tomorrow, right?"

"WHO CARES ABOUT DUKE!? I GOT INTO NC STATE!"

"Duke is a Flair family tradition. I went to Duke, David went to Duke, your younger brother wanted to go to-"

"NC State."

"He wanted to go to Duke."

"YOU wanted him to go to Duke, he wanted to go to NC State, Dad."

Ric sighed.

"I picked you out a nice dress for tomorrow."

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"This interview is a waste of time I'm not going to-"

"There's nothing wrong with Duke."

"Okay, Dad." Charlotte said, tired of arguing.

* * *

Becky walked into the train station.

"Oh! Badlass is here! Great!" Dustin said, trying not to laugh.

Finn began laughing too.

Becky looked confused.

"Is there something I should know?"

Finn and Dustin shrugged.

Becky looked around the train station, before seeing Naomi's portrait.

"...what's this?"

"What's it look like?" Finn asked, with a laugh.

"...who did this?"

"Storm."

"Why!?"

"I don't know, ask her when she gets here."

Becky waited, for a while, sitting down next to the portrait.

After about 30 minutes, Naomi showed up.

"Sup, Badlass?"

"Just relaxing... next to your portrait of me."

"That's not a portrait of you. What's your phone number?" Naomi said immediately.

"Um... it really looks like me."

"I'll just put my number in your phone."

Becky hesitantly handed Naomi her phone.

"So you painted a portrait of me, and now you want my phone number?"

Finn laughed, as Naomi rolled her eyes.

"So we can meet up and ride to the party tomorrow together."

"Oh. Okay... you still didn't address painting a portrait of me."

"It's not you."

Becky looked at the portrait again, skeptically, before shrugging.

"If you say so. What time is this party?" Becky asked, as Naomi handed her her phone back.

"Midnight."

Becky nodded, as Naomi began painting.

"Can you do one of me?" Finn asked.

Naomi flipped him off as Becky chuckled a bit, uncomfortably. Still confused by the portrait.


	14. The Duke Dress

Charlotte stared at the brand new blue dress in her closet that her father bought her specifically for the Duke interview. Not only did she really didn't want to go to Duke at all, but she also hated the "Duke dress". She'd never told her father, but the main reason she wanted to go to NC State is because it was the college her and her younger brother had agreed to go to together before he passed away. Charlotte's older brother had went to Duke, much like Ric, and Ric's father, and Ric's uncles, and Ric's grandfather, and Ric's great uncles, and Ric's great grandmother, and Ric's great great uncles. The family's history with the school went back to way before the school was even named Duke.

Becky's name popped up on her phone screen, as the phone vibrated.

Charlotte immediately answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Charlotte, I already know what you're going to say, but there's an emergency band meeting at AJ's house at 4:30, and The Boss specifically stressed that we need you there."

"Hold on." Charlotte said.

She stuck her head out of the room.

"Hey Dad!?"

"Yeah!?"

"What time is the Duke guy coming!?"

"5 o'clock!"

"Okay, thanks!... Is it gonna be longer than 30 minutes?"

"I have no idea." Becky said, truthfully.

Charlotte looked at the dress, cringing.

"Sure, I'll be there."

"Really!?"

"Yeah."

"That's great! Talk to you later."

"Alright, bye."

* * *

Becky rapidly began dialing on her phone.

"Hello?" Sasha answered, quickly.

"She said she'll be there."

"...really?"

"I know, right!?"

"Uh... okay, great. See you guys then."

"Bye."

* * *

"Who was that?" Vince asked, laying in the bed next to Sasha.

"That was the drummer of my band."

"You're in a band?"

"Yes."

"You never told me that."

"It never came up I guess?" Sasha shrugged.

"I'd love to go see one of your shows."

Sasha took a deep uncomfortable sigh.

"I'm not sure about that, b-babe." Sasha stuttered.

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure everyone would... understand or approve of our relationship, Vince."

"Why? You just turned 18."

"It's just... I don't know. I'd rather have this be a secret."

Vince looked a bit confused.

"But Sasha... I love you." he said, putting his hand on the side of her face.

Sasha instinctively smacked Vince's arm down, and Vince looked at her in confusion.

"I... I have to go, I'll be back." Sasha said, rushing out of the room.

Vince sighed.

* * *

"Hello?" Bayley asked.

"Please tell me you're home right now." Sasha said, walking out of Vince's front door, and nearly jumping into her car.

"Becky is, I'm at wor-"

Sasha immediately hung up and began calling Becky.

"Hey, Boss, what's up?"

"I'm coming over, I need somewhere to hang out until the meeting."

"Um, okay cool, the door's unlocked."

"Thank you, bye."

"Bye."

* * *

"You guys are fucking retarded." Seth's voice said, coming out of Roman's phone. It was on speaker.

Roman was in the passenger seat while Dean drove.

"I'm not turning down money like this, bro." Roman responded. Dean remained silent.

"When you two end up in jail or getting shot, don't come crying to me."

"Shouldn't you be filling out job applications?" Dean asked. Roman chuckled a bit.

"$3500 with no rent or bills should hold me over for the time being." Seth said.

"Where we headed to?" Roman asked,.

"Long Island."

"That's over an hour."

"That's also $2,000 off top."

Roman simply nodded.

"$2,000?" Seth asked.

"Mind your business, Seth." Dean said, grabbing Roman's phone and hanging up.

* * *

"And now I live in a house with him, and it's like I can't get away. It was already bad at first but now he's getting weird and clingy and he tells me he loves me and I really don't wanna be there anymore." Sasha said, starting to tear up.

"You need to tell your parents." Becky said.

Sasha shook her head no.

"Why not?"

"I'm not going back there."

"...you could stay here, if you don't mind sleeping on the couch..."

"No thank you."

"...I'm sure Charlotte's house has a guest room or something."

"I just need to get as much money from Vince as possible and start saving it, then leave him, then find an apartment for me and my mother."

"I really don't think that's a good idea. What if he gets mad and tries to hurt you?" Becky asked.

"I would kill him." Sasha shrugged, casually.

"What time is it?"

"Like 4:15. Is Bayley off yet?"

"Bayley gets off literally at 4:30."

"We're gonna be late then." Sasha sighed, grabbing her car keys, and walking out the door as Becky followed.

* * *

"Have you heard from 'Trust Fund'?" Becky smirked, looking back at Dana, who was in the backseat behind her.

"Nope, she's not answering me right now."

"Me either."

"She better show up... and Bayley better hurry up." Sasha said, impatiently, as Bayley entered the car.

Sasha took off, leaving Bayley with barely enough time to close the door.

"In a hurry?" Bayley asked.

"AJ told us to be at her house at 4:30. It's 4:30, and here we are, in the Dairy Queen parking lot."

Bayley said nothing, sensing Sasha's attitude.

* * *

"So where is everyone else?" AJ asked.

She was sitting at the table in her living room, across from Charlotte.

"Um... I'm not sure, they just told me to be here at 4:30. My phone's dead." she shrugged.

"...who's idea was the CD thing?"

"...mine." Charlotte sighed.

"Don't do that ever again."

"I won't. I'm sorry."

"Why wasn't The Boss with you guys?"

"She's... she's a bit of a character."

Just then, a loud knock at the door was heard.

"Come in!" AJ shouted.

The door wildly flung open, as Sasha ran in.

"I'm so sorry we're late, it wasn't my fa-..." Sasha trailed off, seeing Charlotte sitting at the table, as Bayley, Becky, and Dana walked in behind her.

They made eye contact for about 2 seconds before Sasha immediately looked away.

"It's fine, just sit down." AJ chuckled.

The rest of the girls joined AJ and Charlotte at the table.

Becky smiled at Charlotte, who weakly smiled back.

"I wanted to talk to you guys about the Bronx vs Manhattan event that I'm co-hosting with Kaitlyn."

"Right." Sasha nodded.

"As I already told The Boss, there'll be 5 events. A country music competition, an R&B competition, a rap battle, a pop competition, and a battle of the bands between you guys and those East Coast Movement bitches that burned your instruments."

The girls all smiled.

"I already have new instruments for you guys, and Kaitlyn already agreed to the event, we're just scheduling at this point. She's already chosen John Cena for the rap battle and some kid named Heath Slater for the country music competition. Do you guys know any young artists available from around here?"

"My friend Alexa isn't the best singer, but she did a country song with a producer around here like last year." Sasha shrugged.

"I don't think Xavier's ever been in a rap battle, but his wordplay is pretty clever, I'm sure he'd be down to try." Becky said.

"Boss, what school did you go to?" Bayley asked.

"Foley."

"That makes so much sense." Charlotte said.

Sasha lowered her eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That explains why you're our age and in our town and Bayley and I have never met you until 2 weeks ago."

"Wait, you guys aren't friends?" AJ asked, seeming a bit shocked.

"No." Charlotte and Sasha said in unison.

"Then how'd you all meet?"

"Well, I met Charlotte at a summer camp when I was 7 and she was 9." Dana began.

"Charlotte and I both went to Hogan Elementary, Backlund Middle, and Austin High school-"

"The preppy white people schools." Sasha added, cutting Bayley off.

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"My mom met this guy from Ireland online through some dating app, he moved here 2 months ago and brought his daughter along with him." Bayley said, pointing at Becky as AJ chuckled.

"Then he proposed to her and we moved into their house 2 weeks ago." Becky shrugged.

"I still don't see how The Boss works into this equation."

"Funny story actually-" Charlotte began, as Becky smirked a bit. Bayley and Dana looked back and forth between Sasha and Charlotte.

"We kinda ran into each other, and found out that we both were interested in performing at that open mic you saw us at, then formed a band." Sasha said, with a fake smile.

"She tried to steal my guita-"

"And I might've borrowed her guitar without her permission."

"...wow... you guys have... AMAZING chemistry for a group of 17 year olds that just met each other weeks ago."

"I'm 16 actuall-

"Anyway, I was asking if you went to Foley because didn't that girl that went on The Voice go to Foley?" Bayley asked, completely cutting Dana off.

"Carmella? Yeah."

"Do you know her?"

"Yeah, she'd be great for the R&B slot, I'll hit her up about it."

"Perfect. Now all we have to do is find a pop singer. You guys will be representing ME, so you guys are going to be perfect. We'll do 3 rehearsals a week, and we-"

"What time is it?" Charlotte asked.

Becky pulled her phone out.

"5:15."

"OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO GO!" Charlotte exclaimed, standing up from the table.

Everyone else looked confused, as Charlotte ran out of the front door.

"What was that about?" AJ asked.

"I don't know, she did ask if this meeting would be longer than a half hour." Becky shrugged.

"Probably some dumb college shit." Sasha said, crossing her arms.

* * *

"You told me to be here at 4:45." Seth said, sitting in the car, outside of AJ's house, as Charlotte got in, closing the door.

"Because my Duke interview was scheduled for 5."

"It's 5:16."

"I know! Drive!" Charlotte yelled, as Seth started the car.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Roman yelled, as he and Dean ran back to their car, hearing gun shots in the distance.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Dean said, starting the car, and driving off as fast as he could.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?"

"WE GOT ROBBED, THAT'S WHAT JUST HAPPENED!"

"PEOPLE DO THAT!?"

"YES, PEOPLE DO THAT!"

"DUDE WE JUST LOST OVER $2,000 WORTH OF COCAINE!"

"I KNOW, I WAS THERE ROMAN!" Dean said, dialing on his phone.

"Man, fuck this, take me home."

"We're not going back home until we sort this out."

"WHAT!?"

"Hello? Del Rio, bad news, we showed up, gave him the shit, and they started shooting at us... yes, I know, we're never supposed to give them the shit first but... it's gone, they already have it... what do you mean get it back?... We don't have a gun... what the fuck?" Dean asked, hanging up.

"What did he say?"

"He told me to get it back and when I told him we can't he started cussing in Spanish and hung up." Dean said, beginning to drive again.

"Are we fucked?"

"Not we."

* * *

Charlotte ran through the front door of her house, to see Ric, sitting on the couch.

"Where's the guy!?" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Three things. 1, it was a woman. 2, she left because you're 30 minutes late. And 3, I called you 30 times."

"My phone's dead, I'm so sorry, Dad."

"You did this on purpose." Ric said.

Charlotte's eyes got huge.

"What!? No! I would never-"

"You sat down here and waited an entire fucking hour just to be on time for your NC State interview!"

"Dad! I swear I didn't miss it on purpose!"

"...I'm very disappointed in y-"

"Don't say that!" Charlotte yelled, shakily, starting to tear up.

Ric sighed.

"I've been trying my hardest to make you proud my whole fucking life don't you DARE say that to me!"

"Well you didn't make me proud today."

"Fuck you!" Charlotte snapped.

"Excuse me!?"

"I don't want to go to Duke! David didn't want to go to fucking Duke! No one cares about this stupid family tradition but you! I got accepted by 4 of the best colleges in the entire country and that still isn't good enough for you! So yes, fuck you!"

"Okay." Ric nodded.

"And you-"

"Get out."

Charlotte froze.

"...what?"

"Get out of my house, Charlotte."

"What!? You can't kick me out!"

"Why can't I?"

"...where am I supposed to go?"

"With your mother."

"How am I supposed to get to North Carolina by myself?"

"You can't."

"...then you can't kick me out because I don't have anywhere to go!"

"Find somewhere. Bye."

"This is ridiculous." Charlotte said, walking towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm grabbing my stuff."

"You don't have any stuff." Ric said, standing in-between her and the staircase.

"What do you mean?"

"You've never worked a day in your life, you've never spent a dime that doesn't belong to me, I've bought everything you own, including the clothes on your back, you don't have any stuff, Charlotte."

"...I earned $60 to buy a guitar without you."

Ric sarcastically clapped.

"Move." Charlotte said, shoving him out of the way and storming out of the house.

* * *

"Hey."

"What's up?" Seth asked, driving home.

His phone call with Charlotte was on speaker.

"Can you come back and get me?"

"Uh, sure, why?"

"I just got kicked out of the house."

"What!? Why!?"

"Because I missed the Duke interview and I cussed my Dad out. Can I stay at your house tonight?"

"Uh... my parents probably wouldn't let me have a girl spend the night."

"Don't ask them."

"...uh... okay."

* * *

Becky and Naomi sat on the train, at around 10PM.

"If the party isn't till midnight, why'd you want to leave so early?" Becky asked.

"The party is in Queens."

"Oh my god that's a 2 hour train ride!"

"Hope your phone's nice and charged." Naomi said.

"...you made a portrait of me."

"It was funny the first couple times Finn said it, but now it's just annoying."

Becky chuckled, shaking her head.

* * *

"Del Rio said I owe him $2,000. The good news is I have that. The bad news is, I have to give him that." Dean said, into his phone.

He was laying on his bed with his feet in the air, staring up at his ankle monitor.

"You know, that 7AM-7PM time restriction is gonna be pretty hard to meet when you're laying dead in the street somewhere." Roman responded, still shaken up from earlier.

"Yeah, whatever, have you talked to Seth?"

"No, he's probably fucking Charlotte right now."

"She doesn't seem like that type of girl."

"It was a joke." Roman laughed.

"Oh... I'm gonna call him, see if he's still being a little bitch."

"Well I'll tell you this right now, I'm joining the little bitch club officially after today, I'm never selling drugs again in my life."

"Wow, pussy, if I quit the first time I almost got shot in the face, I wouldn't have this box on my ankle."

"That would be a good thing."

Just then, Dean heard a beep.

"What was that?"

"Seth's calling me." Roman said, a bit confused.

"Put him on 3-way."

"Hello?" Roman asked, hearing what sounded like kissing noises.

"Fuck!" they heard Seth groan, under his breath.

"Hello?" Roman asked.

"Seth..." they heard Charlotte moan, quietly.

"Bro what the fuck!?" Roman exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!" Dean laughed.

"You know I'm a virgin, right?" they heard Charlotte whisper.

"Be gentle on her Seth!" Dean yelled, as Roman began laughing.

"Do you hear something?" Charlotte asked.

"Dammit." Dean said, as Roman began laughing even harder.

"Like what?" they heard Seth respond.

"Like talking and laughing?"

"Oh uh... I accidentally opened YouTube on my phone." they heard Seth say, before Seth hung up.

Dean and Roman began fully laughing.

"My boy Seth went from the friend zone to- he just texted me!" Roman laughed.

"What'd he say?"

"He said 'if you mention this to Charlotte I'll kill you'."

"Tell him Dean said be gentle."

Roman began laughing again.

* * *

It was about 2AM. Becky sat next to Naomi on a psychedelic looking couch. She'd gathered that the party was basically full of different artists and people who enjoyed the arts, and that a large majority of the party goers were gay guys. She had recently started to feel like she was in a bit of a dream state, and everything around her seemed surreal.

"I think I'm gonna go get some punch." Becky said, beginning to stand up.

"Don't." Naomi said, flatly.

"Why?"

"Do you do drugs?"

"No."

"Then don't."

Becky looked deeply concerned, staring at the punch bowl she had already gotten two cups full of punch out of.

She sat back down.

"Um... this party has been really fun." Becky said.

"I'm glad you liked it... did you like my portrait of you?"

Becky smirked a bit.

"...so you admit it's of me!?"

"You're not stupid." Naomi shrugged.

"It's actually really good... why'd you make a portr-"

Becky was immediately cut off, by a kiss on the lips from Naomi.

After about 10 seconds, Naomi broke the kiss.

"That's why made a portrait of you."

"...oh... okay then..." Becky said, still in disbelief, her thoughts racing.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I just... I wasn't expecting that."

"Sorry. I just... I didn't know how to say it, so I figured that would get my point across." Naomi said, embarrassed.

"It... it did, it definitely did."

Naomi simply nodded, and they sat in silence for a little while.

"It's getting late, we should leave." Naomi said.

"Yeah... what's in the punch exactly?"

"I'm not sure why?"

"Cause, I had some earlier, and everything feels weird, and I feel like you just admitted you painted a portrait of me, then you kissed me, and I'm not sure if I'm hallucinating or you actually did that."

"Nope, I did both of those things."

"Oh, okay... well... 2 things... 1, I have a boyfriend, just so you know."

"I... I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Naomi said.

"And 2... don't tell my boyfriend about this." Becky said, before kissing Naomi, who gasped a bit, before kissing back.


End file.
